Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the publications issued by her Department in each of the last seven years; and what the (a) circulation, (b) cost and (c) purpose of each was.

Jim Knight: A list of publications produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (and includes those relevant publications from the Departments that formed Defra in June 2001) is detailed on the Defra website ("Publications" link on the main website 'home' page).
	The Government have a duty to explain their policies, decisions and actions; to inform the public about their rights and liabilities; and to provide the public with advice and warnings. Defra regularly publishes reports, consultations and publicity material in accordance with these principles.
	The individual production cost of each of the publications could be collated only at a disproportionate cost.

Farm Subsidies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the total amounts that will be paid in each of the next three years in export subsidies for UK agricultural products.

Jim Knight: Commission estimates of the total amounts that will be paid in export subsidies are only available on an EU-wide basis, up to 2006, as follows:
	
		
			  € million 
			  EU export refunds 
		
		
			 2004 3,327 
			 2005 3,773 
			 2006 3,436 
		
	
	Source:
	EU Commission Provisional Draft Budget (PDB) 2006
	The UK accounted for approximately 10 per cent. of export refunds in 2004.

Farming

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of farm acreage in (a) England and (b) Northamptonshire is accurately digitally mapped for the entry level Stewardship scheme.

Jim Knight: holding answer 14 July 2005
	It is a requirement of the entry level scheme (ELS) that land must be digitally mapped on the Rural Land Register (RLR). To date 72.5 per cent. of farm hectarage has been digitally mapped in England and 97 per cent. in Northamptonshire.
	The Rural Development Service (RDS) has access to all digitally mapped land for ELS. Work is still ongoing within the RLR to process outstanding new land registrations and amendments to existing mapped land arising from the introduction of the single payment scheme and additional land being entered into ELS. Common land is not included in these figures.

Gardens (Biodiversity)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has commissioned to evaluate the contribution of suburban and urban back garden land to biodiversity; and what its main finding and recommendations were.

Jim Knight: The Department is jointly funding a research project by the University of Sheffield. The project ("BUGS 2") is looking at the environmental and biodiversity value of domestic gardens in urban areas.
	The research builds on the work done in the previous BUGS project (funded by the Natural Research Environment Council) which examined the biodiversity value of gardens within a single city (Sheffield). The latest project, which is being carried out over three years (2004–07), widens the scope of this work to four cities: Leicester, Oxford, Cardiff and Belfast. The results, therefore, are not yet available. Further information about the project can be found at www.sheffield.ac.uk/uni/projects/bugs/.

Labelling

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce a Produced in the UK logo scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Government have no plans to introduced a "Produced in UK" logo scheme. However, there is nothing to stop retailers and others in the food chain from indicating the UK as the country of origin where it is appropriate to do so. Guidance on country of origin labelling has been issued by the Food Standards Agency.

Church Bells

Philip Hollobone: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what (a) financial and (b) other help the Commissioners provide for the restoration of church bells to church towers which no longer have bells.

Stuart Bell: The Church Commissioners do not make moneys available for this purpose.
	The Archbishops' Council's Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, the relevant Diocesan Advisory Committee and the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers advise on all aspects of this subject including alternative sources of funding.

Redundant Churches

Mike Hancock: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what disciplinary powers are available to the Church in dealing with clergymen in respect of settling the future of redundant churches.

Stuart Bell: There is no such thing as a disciplinary process in respect of redundant churches.
	The Church Commissioners are required under the provisions of the Pastoral Measure to publish a draft scheme making provision for the future of a redundant church. A notice is served on certain statutory bodies, which include the incumbent and parochial church council, but it is open to anyone who wishes to do so to make written representations to the Commissioners for or against the provisions of such a scheme. The Commissioners exercise a quasi-judicial role in adjudicating on any objections received.

Sickness Absence

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days the Office has lost due to sickness in the past five years for which figures are available.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.
	The days lost to sickness in the Scotland Office, including the Office of the Advocate General, are set out in the annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" published by the Cabinet Office. This report gives details of both the average working days absence per staff-year and the number of staff years on which that calculation is based.
	The most recent report for 2003 was announced by ministerial statement on 1 November 2004, Official Report, column 1WS and copies placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General are committed to managing sickness absence effectively and to putting in place the recommendations of the recently published "Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector".

Body Armour

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many items of body armour issued to British troops since 2000 are unaccounted for.

Adam Ingram: No body armour has been unaccounted for since 2000. An audit of stockholdings of body armour undertaken last year by the Defence Logistics Organisation showed that stock holdings accounted for 66 per cent. of the total number of Enhanced Combat Body Armour components procured between 1992 and 2003. The remainder will have been consumed over this period as a result of wear and tear, and operational loss. I refer the hon. Member to the data for this period that was published by the House of Commons Defence Committee on 8 June 2004 (HC 635), as part of the Government's response to its "Lessons of Iraq" inquiry.
	Combat body armour has now been designated as an item of personal issue to regular service personnel (excluding the Royal Navy but including the Royal Marines). Individuals are held accountable for the care of their body armour. If damaged or lost, it will be replaced in line with existing procedures.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which document Colonel Terrington saw in December 2003 to which the Minister of State referred in his letter to the hon. Member for Camarthen, East and Dinefwr of 31 January.

Adam Ingram: Colonel Terrington saw a document on 26 December 2003, entitled "CJTF-7 CG MEMO—CJTF-7 Interrogation and Counter-Resistance Policy" dated 28 September 2003. We have no further information on the content of that document, which was not the extant CJTF-7 interrogation policy at that time.

Japanese Internees

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications under the ex gratia scheme for British groups interned by the Japanese during the second world war have been refused on grounds of their not satisfying the bloodlink criteria; if he will reconsider these applications in response to the report of the parliamentary and health service ombudsman of 12 July; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: We estimate that some 1,100 claims were rejected because they did not meet the "bloodlink" criterion. As will be clear from my written statement on 13 July 2005, Official Report, columns 28–29WS, we do not consider that the parliamentary and health service ombudsman's report provides grounds for reviewing these cases. The Department's rejection of claims on the "bloodlink" criterion is also affected by the recent High Court decision on the application for judicial review by Mrs. Diana Elias. The Secretary of State for Defence is considering his response to this judgment.

RAF Innsworth

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of redundancies from (a) RAF Innsworth and (b) High Wycombe, following the transfer of operations; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Redundancies resulting from the planned collocation of the RAF Headquarters at High Wycombe form part of the 10,000 civilian post reductions announced as part of the July 2004 Defence White Paper "Delivering Security in a Changing World". It is not yet known how many staff, or at which grades, will be made redundant at each site. It is therefore too early to estimate the cost of these redundancies.

RAF Innsworth

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to obtain the agreement of other agencies to use the RAF Innsworth site following closure; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: We are still considering whether RAF Innsworth might be suitable for alternative defence requirements. If none are identified the site will be placed on the English Partnerships (EP) Public Asset Register to allow other Government Departments and agencies 40 days to declare an interest.

School Fees

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on school fees in each of the last three years; who is entitled to claim the cost of fees; what the maximum amount payable per claimant is; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 July 2005
	The net sum paid annually in respect of service education allowances for boarding and day school fees by the Ministry of Defence in each of the past three years is shown in the table:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2002–03 69,488,884.11 
			 2003–04 81,650,940.11 
			 2004–05 91,078,265.42 
		
	
	In addition to the above amounts, service education allowances are subject to income tax and national insurance contributions (NIC) when paid to service personnel based in the UK. These are paid by the MOD under grossing up arrangements through a PAYE settlement agreement (PSA). The income tax and NIC PSA payment amounts are not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	Service education allowances are available to all regular service personnel, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. In order to claim any of the service education allowances, the service claimant must fully accept the overriding principle that their family will accompany them on each posting, whether in the United Kingdom or overseas.
	There are a range of service education allowances available, depending on whether the child is attending a boarding or day school, as a junior or senior pupil and whether they have a special educational need. The various maximum annual rates of service education allowance per child from 2002 onwards are shown in the table.
	
		
			 £ 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Boarding 
			 Junior Pupil 8,700 9,525 10,224 10,488 
			 Senior Pupil 11,166 12,060 12,990 13,670 
			  
			 Day 
			 Junior Pupil 5,163 5,742 6,165 6,426 
			 Senior Pupil 6,900 7,494 8,022 8,358 
			 Special educational needs addition (SENA) 18,000 18,000 19,389 2,406 
			 SENA (day) 12,000 12,000 12,846 13,383

Wormwood Scrubs

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2005, Official Report, column 1402W on Wormwood Scrubs, whether development proposals include traffic management schemes.

Don Touhig: The London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is obliged to consult the Ministry of Defence under the provisions of the Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879 on development proposals on Wormwood Scrubs. Development proposals are defined in Section 4 of the Act as
	" . . . lay out, drain, level, plant and improve the Scrubs."
	The definition covers all but the most minor of works. Therefore the requirement for this Department's approval would depend on the nature of any works needed under a proposed traffic management scheme.
	I have previously referred to a related agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Agreement dated 1 October 1980. This is relevant as it sets out the management arrangements in respect of Wormwood Scrubs between the Secretary of State for Defence and the Council and further defines under what circumstances this Department's approval is required. The pertinent section of the 1980 agreement states:
	"The Secretary of State for Defence agrees for the purposes of the Act that the Greater London Council may carry out on the non-military portion of the Scrubs any operation to lay out drain level plant and improve the Scrubs without requiring his further approval provided the operation is otherwise lawful and does not form part of a major scheme likely to affect the general character of any part of the Scrubs and does not require the consent of the Secretary of State for the Environment."
	Public roads would not be a military part of the Scrubs.
	Therefore the Ministry of Defence would expect to be consulted if the Council proposed a development falling within the definition of the Act over the military portion of the Scrubs or was a major scheme.

Homelessness

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what average length of time a homeless household in temporary accommodation in each Government Office Region had to wait before being made an offer of a permanent home in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what average length of time a homeless household in temporary accommodation in each local authority area in London had to wait before being made an offer of a permanent home in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004.

Yvette Cooper: Information reported quarterly by local authorities on their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households that, during the quarter, left temporary accommodation provided by the authority, or who were no longer registered as "homeless at home", by the length of stay in broad time bands.
	A table which presents the proportion of households in each time band for each year since 1997, by Government Office region, along with a corresponding table presenting the position for London boroughs in 1997 and 2004, has been placed in the Library of the House. These include households who have been given settled accommodation by the authority, but also those who left temporary accommodation voluntarily as well as those who ceased to be eligible or who became intentionally homeless.
	The Government have set a target to halve the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2010. Homeless acceptances in the first quarter of 2005 were 20 percent. lower than the corresponding period in 2004.

Sustainable Communities

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment his Department has made of (a) the funding requirements of and (b) the sources of funding for the North Northamptonshire Together local delivery partnership; and what assessment he has made of the partnership's capacity to deliver the sustainable communities spatial strategy for North Northamptonshire.

Yvette Cooper: The draft business plan for North Northants Together indicates that an income of £1.473 million is needed to cover expenditure in the 2005–06 financial year. This total includes in kind contributions from partners. The sources of funding are the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (£500,000), the five relevant local authorities, emda, English Partnerships and Catalyst Corby. Details for future years are still under consideration. North Northants Together has submitted a bid for funding from the Growth Area Fund for the years 2006–07 and 2007–08. A decision on the bid will be announced in due course.
	North Northants Together was formally established in February 2005. Its draft business plan outlines how the partnership aims to deliver the sustainable communities spatial strategy for North Northamptonshire. It addresses the capacity of the delivery vehicle. The business plan will be an important reference point for future decisions on funding and for reviewing performance.

Bulgaria

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 663W, on Bulgaria (EU accession), what elements Bulgaria needs to implement in relation to justice.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 18 July 2005
	The European Commission wrote to the Bulgarian Government at the start of June 2005. It noted that Bulgaria still needs to implement reforms in its judicial system:
	"in particular to ensure the efficiency and transparency in the pre-trial phase as regards the Criminal Procedure Code and other related laws including the Judicial System Act, the Criminal Code and the Ministry of Interior Act".

Embassies

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which embassies (a) have been closed over the past five years and (b) are planned to be closed over the next two years; and what the value of ground sales of embassies over the last five years was.

Jack Straw: The British embassies in Bamako, Managua, San Salvador, Tegucigalpa and Asuncion have been closed in the last five years. It is intended to close the embassies in Antananarivo and Dili in the next two years.
	The embassy offices in Bamako, Managua and Tegucigalpa were leased. The gross proceeds from the sale of the El Salvador office were £940,000. The sale of the Asuncion Office is not due to be completed until autumn 2005.

Eritrea

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Eritrea regarding the cases of trade unionists Tewelde Ghebremedhin, Minase Andezion and Habtom Weldemicael.

Ian Pearson: Our ambassador in Asmara has discussed this case with EU partners. The previous local EU presidency in turn raised it with a senior official of the Government. We understand that Tewelde Ghebremedhin, Minase Andezion and Habtom Weldemicael may face criminal charges. However, we and our EU partners continue to monitor this case closely and will raise it again with the Government if necessary.

Licensing Act

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the needs test that magistrates considered for new licensed premises was abolished; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The new regime introduced by the Licensing Act 2003 makes no provision for licensing authorities to take need, or the means of applicants, into account in their decisions. The new regime is designed to advance the licensing objectives of ensuring public safety, preventing crime and disorder, preventing public nuisance, and protecting children from harm. To those ends, the 2003 Act allows licensing authorities to take full account of the possible effects of the concentration of licensed premises on levels of crime and disorder. This is a separate matter to need or means, the consideration of which is allowed under the current licensing regime.
	Under the provisions of the Licensing Act 1964, licensing justices can consider need or means, along with other matters at their discretion, in dealing with licence applications. The consideration of means in such decisions was reviewed by the Departmental Committee on Liquor Licensing, under the chairmanship of Lord Erroll of Hale. The Committee concluded in December 1972 that, in the special context of liquor licensing law, the application of the test of need to new applications for justices' on-licences was out of date and unnecessary.
	That conclusion informed subsequent guidance, including the last Good Practice Guide to licensing committees published under the old licensing regime. This was produced by the Justices' Clerks' Society in consultation with the Magistrates' Association, and stated that
	"when considering the question of need/demand, committees do not attach much, if any, weight to the threat from competition and should not consider trade protection as a matter which is relevant when exercising their discretion."
	However, different licensing committees continue to be inconsistent in their applications of tests of need. In this and other areas, the 2003 Act will bring greater consistency to licensing decisions.

Licensing Act

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of premises in Wales licensed under (a) the Licensing Act 1964 and (b) the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 which fall into each of the rateable value bands for licence fees under the Licensing Act 2003 (Fees) Regulations; how many in each category will be required to pay the fee multiplier; and if she will make a statement.

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of premises in Cardiff Central licensed under (a) the Licensing Act 1964 and (b) the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 which fall into each of the rateable value bands for licence fees under the Licensing Act (Fees) Regulations; how many in each category will be required to pay the fee multiplier; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: As at 30 June 2004 there were, under the Licensing Act 1964, 10,909 on-and off-licensed premises, and 1,442 registered clubs in Wales. On this date there were 1,117 on- and off-licensed premises, and 68 registered clubs in the Cardiff petty session division.
	DCMS deposited the source publication for these figures "Statistical Bulletin Liquor Licensing (England and Wales, July 2003-June 2004)" on 27 October 2004 in the House Libraries. This document is available on the DCMS website at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/research/statistics_outputs/liquor_licensing_statistics.htm
	Figures for the numbers of premises licensed under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 are not collected centrally. However, surveys suggest that approximately 46,000 public entertainment licences are issued in England and Wales annually. Such licences would include those issued under the London Government Act 1963 as well as those under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
	No estimates have been made centrally about the numbers of licensed premises in Wales or in Cardiff Central that fall into each of the fee bands, or how many in these areas will be required to pay the fee multipliers. It is likely that individual licensing authorities have estimates for these figures. However, the Regulatory Impact Assessment in respect of the fees regulations estimated the spectrum of premises lying in each band as a percentage of the total, as follows:
	
		
			  Rateable value bands Non-domestic rateable value Percentage of premises in band 
		
		
			 A £0-£4,300 19 
			 B £4,301-£33,000 60 
			 C £33,001-£87,000 13 
			 D £87,001-£125,000 3 
			 E £125,001 and over 5 
		
	
	It also estimated that approximately 2,000–4,000 premises falling in Bands D and E across England and Wales would meet the definition of being primarily or exclusively engaged in the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises, meaning that they would be required to pay the fee multipliers.

National Lottery

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's definition is of the principle of additionality in relation to the use of lottery good cause funding.

Richard Caborn: It is set out in our July 2003 policy statement:
	"Lottery funding will not be allowed to become a substitute for funding that would normally fall to mainstream Government spending."
	As the statement made clear, the same basic principle has been expressed in slightly different ways in the past by successive Governments.

Olympics 2012

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  who will operate the new Olympic scratchcard game; and when contracts will be awarded;
	(2)  whether the new Olympics scratchcard game will be operated on a not-for-profit basis.

Richard Caborn: The scratchcard will be operated as part of the national lottery by Camelot, whose licence to run the lottery was awarded in 2002. In accordance with that licence Camelot is entitled to a profit for effective performance.

Olympics 2012

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the likely effect on household spending on gambling of the introduction of the new Olympics scratchcard game.

Richard Caborn: We do not think that the scratchcard will have any significant impact on overall household spending.

Radio Broadcasting

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether Ofcom briefs her Department on (a) new and (b) existing commercial radio stations.

James Purnell: Ofcom are an independent regulator with responsibility for the planning, licensing and regulation of commercial radio. They have no specific duty to brief the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on new or existing commercial radio services, but keep my Department informed of developments through regular contacts.

Radio Broadcasting

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on (a) the regulation and licensing of commercial radio and (b) the prospects for growth in the sector.

James Purnell: The regulation and licensing of commercial radio are a matter for Ofcom, acting within the framework we established in the Communications Act 2003.
	As Ofcom indicated in their report, "Radio—Preparing for the future—Phase 1" they foresee opportunities for future growth especially through the increasing take-up of digital radio.

Rugby

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) assistance and (b) funding her Department provided to rugby league in 2004–05.

Richard Caborn: One of Sport England's 10 priority sports, the success of rugby league in achieving modernisation and participation targets was a major factor behind the decision (announced February 2005) to allocate the sport £11.5 million in funding spread over the next four years.
	Although funding has been essential for achieving the sport's aims, Sport England has also worked with the Rugby Football League (RFL) the national governing body, in a consultative capacity, helping to develop business plans and to streamline and modernise its internal structure. The latest phase of cooperation between the RFL and Sport England has seen an increased focus on the autonomy of the governing body in defining and delivering its own objectives whilst maintaining the high level of support and advice offered by Sport England.
	For the financial year 2004–05, rugby league received a total of approximately £3,323,000 in funding through Sport England. Of this, £465,000 was provided by the Exchequer and approximately £2,858,000 was lottery funding. A full breakdown is provided in the following table. It should be noted that with the exception of those programmes marked 1 , funding was administered via the RFL.
	
		
			 Programme Amount received (£) Source of funding 
		
		
			 Development Funding 320,000 Exchequer 
			 DCMS Volunteer Programme—Step Into Sport 50,000 Exchequer 
			 PESSCL Club Links 40,000 Exchequer 
			 UK Coaching Certificate 55,000 Exchequer 
			 World Class Programme 1,500,000 Lottery 
			 Interim Funding for Whole Sport Plan 410,000 Lottery 
			 County Sports Partnerships funding(3) 293,000 Lottery 
			 Community grants funding(3) 655,000 (approx) Lottery 
		
	
	(3) Funding was administered via the RFL.
	Notes:
	1. Total exchequer funding—£465,000.
	2. Total lottery funding—£2,858,000 (approx).
	3. Overall total funding—£3,323,000 (approx).

Swimming Pools

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) privately operated and (b) publicly operated swimming pools have been closed or taken out of use in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Richard Caborn: Eight swimming pools have closed or been taken out of use in the following London boroughs since 1997:
	
		
			 London Borough Swimming pool 
		
		
			 Brent Willesden Pool 
			 Camden Swiss Cottage Baths(4) 
			 Hackney Haggerston Baths 
			  Clissold Leisure Centre 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Janet Adegoke Pool(5) 
			 Harrow Wealdstone Open Air Baths 
			 Hillingdon Uxbridge Lido 
			 Westminster Marshall Street Baths 
		
	
	(4) Currently being refurbished and due to re-open by December 2005.
	(5) Currently being refurbished and due to re-open by December 2005.
	We do not hold details of the public or private ownership status of these swimming pools.

Crime (Elderly People)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many crimes against the elderly there were in (a) urban and (b) rural areas in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland only record details of a victim's age in the three offences detailed in the following tables.
	
		Crimes recorded by the age of the victim
		
			  2000–01 
			  Under 65 65+ Age unknown Total 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland 
			 Offences against the person 16,238 186 4,956 21,380 
			 Personal robbery 500 60 103 663 
			 Domestic burglary 4,708 1,278 2,389 8,375 
			  
			 Urban Region 
			 Offences against the person 7,871 97 3,095 11,063 
			 Personal robbery 363 25 79 467 
			 Domestic burglary 2,668 618 1,489 4,775 
			  
			 Rural Region 
			 Offences against the person 8,367 89 1,861 10,317 
			 Personal robbery 137 35 24 196 
			 Domestic burglary 2,040 660 900 3,600 
		
	
	
		2001–02
		
			  Under 65 65+ Age unknown Total 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland(6) 
			 Offences against the person 23,568 194 2,342 26,104 
			 Personal robbery 699 101 18 818 
			 Domestic burglary 6,309 1,727 1,028 9,064 
			   
			 Urban Region 
			 Offences against the person 12,170 111 1,523 13,804 
			 Personal robbery 520 50 12 582 
			 Domestic burglary 3,462 897 574 4,933 
			  
			 Rural Region 
			 Offences against the person 11,397 83 818 12,298 
			 Personal robbery 179 51 6 236 
			 Domestic burglary 2,847 830 454 4,131 
		
	
	(6) Northern Ireland total includes two offences for which the locations are unknown and thus aren't assigned to a region
	
		2002–03
		
			  Under 65 65+ Age unknown Total 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland 
			 Offences against the person 26,889 269 1,297 28,455 
			 Personal robbery 793 139 9 941 
			 Domestic burglary 7,315 1,962 848 10,125 
			  
			 Urban Region 
			 Offences against the person 13,683 151 817 14,651 
			 Personal robbery 595 85 6 686 
			 Domestic burglary 4,072 1,004 408 5,484 
			  
			 Rural Region 
			 Offences against the person 13,206 118 480 13,804 
			 Personal robbery 198 54 3 255 
			 Domestic burglary 3,243 958 440 4,641 
		
	
	
		2003–04
		
			  Under 65 65+ Age unknown Total 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland 
			 Offences against the person 28,449 326 207 28,982 
			 Personal robbery 111 109 1 887 
			 Domestic burglary 7,098 1,573 273 8,944 
			  
			 Urban Region 
			 Offences against the person 14,499 162 158 14,819 
			 Personal robbery 551 61 1 613 
			 Domestic burglary 3,965 801 152 4,918 
			  
			 Rural Region 
			 Offences against the person 13,950 164 49 14,163 
			 Personal robbery 226 48 0 274 
			 Domestic burglary 3,133 772 121 4,026 
		
	
	
		2004–05
		
			  Under 65 65+ Age unknown Total 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland 
			 Offences against the person 28,899 336 104 29,339 
			 Personal robbery 641 68 0 709 
			 Domestic burglary 6,021 1,109 172 7,302 
			  
			 Urban Region 
			 Offences against the person 14,166 166 74 14,406 
			 Personal robbery 442 43 0 485 
			 Domestic burglary 3,567 620 104 4,291 
			  
			 Rural Region 
			 Offences against the person 14,733 170 30 14,933 
			 Personal robbery 199 25 0 224 
			 Domestic burglary 2,454 489 68 3,011

Pensioners

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Government agency will be responsible for making payment of the one-off tax free lump sum of £200 to pensioner households in Northern Ireland; what action pensioners will be required to take to receive such payments; and when they will receive it.

David Hanson: Most pensioners who are entitled to the £200 payment will receive it automatically with their winter fuel payment from the Social Security Agency, an Executive agency within the Department for Social Development. However some may need to claim their payment. Anyone who has not received a payment by the end of December 2005, and who thinks that they may be eligible, may need to make a claim. All claims must be received by 30 March 2006. Details of how to make a claim and who to contact for more information will be issued at a later date.

Legislative Reviews

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reviews of effectiveness of significant legislation affecting business and industry his Department has carried out; what changes to legislation were proposed as a result of each review; and if he will place copies of the reviews in the Library.

Alan Johnson: The major pieces of legislation reviewed by the Department of Trade and Industry since 2001 are:
	Consumer Credit Act 1974
	Renewables Obligation Order 2002 (reviewed three times for different aspects)
	Employment Relations Act 1999
	Directors Remuneration Report Regulations (assessed for compliance and the extent of changes to remuneration practices).
	Changes proposed as a result of these reviews include:
	Publication of White Paper "Fair, Clear and Competitive—the Consumer Credit Market in the 21st century" following review of Consumer Credit Act 1974. Legislation to reform the licensing system and improve consumer redress is currently before the House;
	Amendment Orders for the Renewables Obligation Order 2002;
	Employment Relations Act 2004 incorporated recommendations from the review of the Employment Relations Act 1999;
	The review of the Directors' Remuneration Report Regulations 2002 was completed in January 2005. Patricia Hewitt made a written parliamentary statement on 23 January 2005.
	Copies of review documents are available in the Libraries of the House and on the DTI website for all of the above-mentioned reviews.

Tesco

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received about the position of Tesco in the grocery trade, with particular reference to the effect on farmers (a) in the UK and (b) overseas.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, my fellow Ministers and I have received representations from Members of the House, the supermarket chains, small businesses, trade associations and pressure groups.
	However, the prime responsibility for operating our competition regime rests with the independent competition authorities. In the specific case of supermarkets it is the Office of Fair Trading, which is currently responsible for keeping under the review the Code of Practice governing supermarket's relations with their suppliers and for dealing with any other competition issues in the sector.

Warning and Prohibition Orders

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) warning orders and (b) prohibition orders have been issued by the Office of Fair Trading under the Estate Agents Act 1979 in (i) England and Wales, (ii) Enfield and (iii) Edmonton in each year since the introduction of the Act; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This is a matter for Sir John Vickers, chairman of the Office of Fair Trading. He will write to the hon. Member.

Education Funding

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much funding has been allocated to Kent county council for the financial years (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07 for Sure Start schemes;
	(2)  what the total budget allocated by Kent county council is to Sure Start schemes in Kent in (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 18 July 2005
	Kent county council has been allocated revenue funding of £6,777,085 in 2005–06 and £6,609,809 in 2006–07 for the Sure Start local programmes element of the council's children and families funding block of the local area agreement pilot of which the council is participating. The county council has also been allocated a total of £23,336,774 in the 2005–06 General Sure Start Grant (GSSG). This is made up of £5,415,544 capital and £17,921,230 revenue. The GSSG for 2006–07 will be communicated to local authorities around November 2005.

Educational Psychologists

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many established full-time equivalent posts for educational psychologists there are in (a) each local education authority and (b) England; how many such posts are vacant; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The following table provides the information requested for January of 2004, the latest information available at LEA level.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent educational psychologists(7) Vacant full-time permanent posts 
		
		
			 Darlington 3.8 1 
			 Hartlepool 3.1 1 
			 Middlesbrough 6.3 0 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 5.0 1 
			 Stockton on Tees 8.3 1 
			 Durham 29.0 0 
			 Northumberland 14.4 0 
			 Gates head 13.0 0 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 13.5 0 
			 North Tyneside 10.0 0 
			 South Tyneside 6.4 0 
			 Sunderland 10.2 3 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 7.5 1 
			 Blackpool 8.3 0 
			 Halton 3.5 2 
			 Warrington 7.4 0 
			 Cheshire 24.2 0 
			 Cumbria 19.0 0 
			 Bolton 10.2 0 
			 Bury 8.6 2 
			 Manchester 18.6 0 
			 Oldham 9.4 0 
			 Rochdale 5.9 2 
			 Salford 10.2 0 
			 Stockport 12.1 1 
			 Tameside 11.5 0 
			 Trafford 6.1 0 
			 Wigan 12.0 3 
			 Lancashire 43.2 0 
			 Knowsley 7.0 2 
			 Liverpool 18.4 0 
			 St. Helens 8.9 0 
			 Sefton 13.1 0 
			 Wirral 11.0 1 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 7.7 1 
			 City of Kingston upon Hull 12.0 0 
			 North East Lincolnshire 7.4 0 
			 North Lincolnshire 5.0 0 
			 York 8.1 0 
			 North Yorkshire 16.5 0 
			 Barnsley 4.0 0 
			 Doncaster 12.0 0 
			 Rotherham 9.8 0 
			 Sheffield 20.8 2 
			 Bradford 11.2 0 
			 Calderdale 7.8 0 
			 Kirklees 26.4 0 
			 Leeds 39.9 0 
			 Wakefield 9.5 0 
			 Derby 11.2 0 
			 Leicester 22.3 0 
			 Nottingham 13.0 2 
			 Rutland 0.0 0 
			 Derbyshire 27.5 1 
			 Leicestershire 19.8 8 
			 Lincolnshire 19.9 2 
			 Northamptonshire 27.9 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 25.9 0 
			 Herefordshire 6.1 0 
			 Stoke on Trent 9.3 0 
			 Telford and Wrekin 15.3 0 
			 Shropshire 0.0 0 
			 Staffordshire 25.4 0 
			 Warwickshire 17.1 0 
			 Birmingham 49.8 3 
			 Coventry 14.1 0 
			 Dudley 5.7 4 
			 Sandwell 16.2 0 
			 Solihull 11.6 0 
			 Walsall 14.0 0 
			 Wolverhampton 16.0 3 
			 Worcestershire 24.3 0 
			 Luton 6.0 1 
			 Peterborough 6.0 1 
			 Southend-on-Sea 6.6 1 
			 Thurrock 6.6 1 
			 Bedfordshire 14.3 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 17.7 0 
			 Essex 50.5 4 
			 Hertfordshire 29.6 3 
			 Norfolk 18.5 6 
			 Suffolk 17.8 2 
			 Camden 16.0 1 
			 City of London 0.3 0 
			 Hackney 12.0 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 10.8 0 
			 Haringey 11.5 1 
			 Islington 14.8 1 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 7.0 0 
			 Lambeth 20.9 4 
			 Lewisham 9.0 4 
			 Newham 11.4 3 
			 Southwark 15.0 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 14.4 0 
			 Wandsworth 13.2 0 
			 City of Westminster 7.8 1 
			 Barking and Dagenham 15.5 0 
			 Barnet 11.4 3 
			 Bexley 8.6 0 
			 Brent 12.6 0 
			 Bromley 9.5 0 
			 Croydon 14.4 0 
			 Ealing 13.4 0 
			 Enfield 22.5 0 
			 Greenwich 12.3 0 
			 Harrow 11.7 0 
			 Havering 9.7 1 
			 Hillingdon 12.7 1 
			 Hounslow 8.9 2 
			 Kingston upon Thames 8.4 0 
			 Merton 8.0 1 
			 Redbridge 10.4 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 6.8 1 
			 Sutton 7.0 1 
			 Waltham Forest 19.4 2 
			 Bracknell Forest 4.2 0 
			 Brighton and Hove 11.7 0 
			 Isle of Wight 7.0 0 
			 Medway 12.8 0 
			 Milton Keynes 11.0 0 
			 Portsmouth 8.5 1 
			 Reading 4.7 0 
			 Slough 17.0 0 
			 Southampton 12.6 0 
			 West Berkshire 8.0 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 9.0 0 
			 Wokingham 7.6 0 
			 Buckinghamshire 22.0 1 
			 East Sussex 19.1 1 
			 Hampshire 51.9 2 
			 Kent 42.4 3 
			 Oxfordshire 25.8 0 
			 Surrey 39.1 3 
			 West Sussex 32.3 2 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 8.7 0 
			 Bournemouth 7.8 0 
			 City of Bristol 14.1 0 
			 North Somerset 10.1 1 
			 Plymouth 13.9 0 
			 Poole 5.5 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 8.0 1 
			 Swindon 7.0 0 
			 Torbay 4.5 1 
			 Cornwall 17.7 0 
			 Isles of Scilly 0.0 0 
			 Devon 27.0 0 
			 Dorset 16.2 1 
			 Gloucestershire 21.9 0 
			 Somerset 25.2 0 
			 Wiltshire 20.0 0 
			 England 2,104.8 113 
		
	
	(7) FTE educational psychologists includes those in post, on secondment for in-service training and on secondment for initial training as educational psychologists.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies

FE Colleges

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what ways her Department is assisting adults of all ages to study languages in colleges of further education.

Bill Rammell: My Department wants to continue to make available a wide range of learning opportunities for adults of all ages, including for the study of modern foreign languages. Provision locally is for the individual college to determine in conjunction with the local Learning and Skills Council, in the light of both local needs and national priorities. As part of the "Success for All" strategy modern foreign languages is a priority curriculum area for improving teaching and learning and introducing new approaches to continuing professional development. The aim is to improve the motivation and linguistic achievements of learners within the sector.

Nursery Places

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in (a) North East Somerset and (b) South Gloucestershire have taken up free nursery places since the policy was introduced.

Beverley Hughes: All four-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since September 1998. All three-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since April 2004.
	The available information on the numbers of free part-time early education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire local education authority areas is shown in the tables.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 18/2005 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (provisional)" in May, which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	
		Number of free nursery education places taken up three and four-year–olds—maintained schools and private, voluntary and independent provide is Bath and North East Somerset local education authority area 1997–2004
		
			  Three-year-olds Four-year-olds 
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(8) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total Maintained nursery and primary schools(11) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total 
		
		
			 1997 310 0 310 n/a n/a 1,700 
			 1998 310 0 310 n/a n/a 1,800 
			 1999 320 0 320 n/a n/a 1,900 
			 2000 300 0 300 n/a n/a 1,700 
			 2001 290 (9)200 490 n/a n/a 1,800 
			 2002 270 (9)460 730 1,300 (12)510 1,800 
			 2003 250 (9)470 720 1,300 (13)580 1,900 
			 2004 280 (10)900 1,200 1,200 (14)500 1,700 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(8) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(9) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(10) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(11) Headcount of children aged lour at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(12) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(13) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(14) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	
		Number of free nursery education places taken up three and four year olds—maintained schools and private, voluntary and independent providers North Somerset local education authority area 1997–2004
		
			  Three-year-olds Four-year-olds 
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(15) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total Maintained nursery and primary schools(18) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total 
		
		
			 1997 160 0 160 n/a n/a 1,800 
			 1998 160 0 160 n/a n/a 2,000 
			 1999 160 0 160 n/a n/a 2,000 
			 2000 200 0 200 n/a n/a 2,200 
			 2001 200 (16)100 300 n/a n/a 2,000 
			 2002 190 (16)950 1,100 1,400 (19)500 1,900 
			 2003 190 (16)1,300 1,500 1,500 (20)540 2,000 
			 2004 160 (17)1,300 1,500 1,500 (21)550 2,000 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(15) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(16) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(17) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(18) Headcount of children aged lour at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(19) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(20) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(21) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	
		Number of free nursery education places taken up three and four year olds—maintained schools and private, voluntary and independent providers South Gloucestershire local education authority area 1997–2004
		
			  Three-year-olds Four-year-olds 
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(22) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total Maintained nursery and primary schools(25) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total 
		
		
			 1997 400 0 400 n/a n/a 2,700 
			 1998 320 0 320 n/a n/a 3,000 
			 1999 330 0 330 n/a n/a 3,100 
			 2000 330 0 330 n/a n/a 3,200 
			 2001 340 (23)140 480 n/a n/a 3,100 
			 2002 330 (23)1,300 1,600 2,300 (26)780 3,100 
			 2003 300 (23)1,900 2,200 2,200 (27)780 3,000 
			 2004 300 (24)1,500 1,800 2,200 (28)670 2,900 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(22) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(23) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(24) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(25) Headcount of children aged lour at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(26) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(27) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(28) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	Changes in pupil figures may arise from changes to the underlying population in the local education authority area and other factors. However, my Department doesn't publish population figures for individual age cohorts at sub-national level because of the unreliability of the underlying population estimates. The Office for National Statistics publish sub-national population estimates in five-year age bands.

Special Educational Needs (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the staffing ratios were for (a) Glenwood Severe Learning Difficulty and (b) Cedar Hall Moderate Learning Difficulty special schools in Castle Point in each of the last three years for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the staffing ratios are for (a) Glenwood Special School and (b) Cedar Hall Special School in Castle Point.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Pupil:teacher and pupil:adult ratio for Glenwood and Cedar Hall SchoolPosition in January each year
		
			  2003 2004 2005(32) 
			  Pupil:teacher ratio(29)(30) Pupil:adult ratio(30)(31) Pupil:teacher ratio(29)(30) Pupil:adult ratio(30)(31) Pupil:teacher ratio(29)(30) Pupil:adult ratio(30)(31) 
		
		
			 Glenwood School 6.0 2.2 6.9 2.5 6.6 2.5 
			 Cedar Hall School 8.8 4.9 8.8 n/a 7.8 4.5 
		
	
	n/a = not available
	(29) The PTR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools.
	(30) For statistical purposes only, pupils who do not attend both morning and afternoon at least five days a week are regarded as part-time. Each part-time pupil is treated as 0.5 FTE.
	(31) The PAR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll by the total FTE number of all teachers and support staff employed in schools, excluding administrative and clerical staff.
	(32) Provisional
	Source:
	Annual School Census

Special Educational Needs (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average staffing ratio was for (a) moderate learning difficulty and (b) severe learning difficulty special schools in Essex in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Pupil:teacher ratio and pupil:adult ratio in schools formally approved to make provision for moderate learning difficulties and severe learning difficulties, Essex local education authority 
		
			  Schools approved to make provision for moderate learning difficulties Schools approved to make provision for severe learning difficulties 
			 Position in January each year Pupil:teacher ratio 1, 2 Pupil:adult ratio 2, 3 Pupil:teacher ratio 1, 2 Pupil:adult ratio 2, 3 
		
		
			 2003 7.7 3.4 6.8 2.7 
			 2004 8.0 3.2 7.6 2.7 
			 2005(36) 7.8 3.0 7.7 2.7 
		
	
	(33) The PTR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools.
	(34) For statistical purposes only, pupils who do not attend both morning and afternoon at least five days a week are regarded as part-time. Each part-time pupil is treated as 0.5 FTE.
	(35) The PAR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll by the total FTE number of all teachers and support staff employed in schools, excluding administrative and clerical staff.
	(36) Provisional
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

Special Educational Needs (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the moderate learning difficulty (MLD) schools in Essex; and how many MLD schools there are in each local education authority.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is as follows.
	Special schools formally approved to make provision for moderate learning difficulties 1 
	January 2005 (provisional v4)—Essex local education authority
	Kingswode Hoe School
	The Hayward School
	Cedar Hall School
	Oak View School
	Castledon School
	The Endeavour School
	The Leas School
	The Edith Borthwick School
	St. John's RC School (Essex)
	Thriftwood School
	Market Field School
	Harlow Fields School
	The Pioneer School
	1 Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools
	
		Number of special schools formally approved to make provision for moderate learning difficulties1, January 2005 (provisional v4), by local education authority area
		
			   Number 
		
		
			 England  508 
			
			 North East  32 
			 841 Darlington 1 
			 840 Durham 7 
			 390 Gateshead 3 
			 805 Hartlepool 2 
			 806 Middlesbrough 2 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 2 
			 392 North Tyneside 3 
			 929 Northumberland 4 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 2 
			 393 South Tyneside 3 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 2 
			 394 Sunderland 1 
			
			 North West  81 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 2 
			 890 Blackpool 2 
			 350 Bolton 2 
			 351 Bury 2 
			 875 Cheshire 10 
			 909 Cumbria 1 
			 876 Halton 1 
			 340 Knowsley 4 
			 888 Lancashire 16 
			 341 Liverpool 9 
			 352 Manchester 3 
			 353 Oldham 3 
			 354 Rochdale 3 
			 355 Salford 3 
			 343 Sefton 2 
			 342 St. Helens 2 
			 356 Stockport 4 
			 357 Tameside 2 
			 358 Trafford 3 
			 877 Warrington 1 
			 359 Wigan 3 
			 344 Wirral 3 
			   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 48 
			 370 Barnsley 0 
			 380 Bradford 5 
			 381 Calderdale 3 
			 371 Doncaster 4 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 1 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 1 
			 382 Kirklees 5 
			 383 Leeds 4 
			 812 North East 1 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 2 
			 815 North Yorkshire 9 
			 372 Rotherham 4 
			 373 Sheffield 5 
			 384 Wakefield 2 
			 816 York 2 
			
			 East Midlands  41 
			 831 Derby 3 
			 830 Derbyshire 5 
			 856 Leicester 5 
			 855 Leicestershire 3 
			 925 Lincolnshire 8 
			 928 Northamptonshire 6 
			 892 Nottingham 3 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 7 
			 857 Rutland 1 
			
			 West Midlands  64 
			 330 Birmingham 14 
			 331 Coventry 4 
			 332 Dudley 4 
			 884 Herefordshire 3 
			 333 Sandwell 1 
			 893 Shropshire 1 
			 334 Solihull 2 
			 860 Staffordshire 12 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 3 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 2 
			 335 Walsall 2 
			 937 Warwickshire 6 
			 336 Wolverhampton 2 
			 885 Worcestershire 8 
			
			 East of England  52 
			 820 Bedfordshire 5 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 5 
			 881 Essex 13 
			 919 Hertfordshire 10 
			 821 Luton 2 
			 926 Norfolk 4 
			 874 Peterborough 3 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 3 
			 935 Suffolk 6 
			 883 Thurrock 1 
			
			 London  57 
			 Inner London  25 
			 202 Camden 2 
			 201 City of London 0 
			 204 Hackney 3 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 1 
			 309 Haringey 3 
			 206 Islington 1 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 1 
			 208 Lambeth 3 
			 209 Lewisham 3 
			 316 Newham 0 
			 210 Southwark 3 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 1 
			 212 Wandsworth 3 
			 213 Westminster 1 
			
			 Outer London  32 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 1 
			 302 Barnet 3 
			 303 Bexley 1 
			 304 Brent 2 
			 305 Bromley 1 
			 306 Croydon 2 
			 307 Ealing 3 
			 308 Enfield 1 
			 203 Greenwich 2 
			 310 Harrow 2 
			 311 Havering 3 
			 312 Hillingdon 3 
			 313 Hounslow 1 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 1 
			 315 Merton 1 
			 317 Redbridge 2 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 1 
			 319 Sutton 1 
			 320 Waltham Forest 1 
			
			 South East  91 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 1 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 4 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 8 
			 845 East Sussex 10 
			 850 Hampshire 16 
			 921 Isle of Wight 1 
			 886 Kent 13 
			 887 Medway 2 
			 826 Milton Keynes 3 
			 931 Oxfordshire 5 
			 851 Portsmouth 3 
			 870 Reading 1 
			 871 Slough 1 
			 852 Southampton 3 
			 936 Surrey 10 
			 869 West Berkshire 2 
			 938 West Sussex 5 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 1 
			 872 Wokingham 2 
			
			 South West  42 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 3 
			 837 Bournemouth 1 
			 801 Bristol, City of 3 
			 908 Cornwall 1 
			 878 Devon 5 
			 835 Dorset 4 
			 916 Gloucestershire 6 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 0 
			 802 North Somerset 3 
			 879 Plymouth 4 
			 836 Poole 2 
			 933 Somerset 4 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 1 
			 866 Swindon 2 
			 880 Torbay 1 
			 865 Wiltshire 2 
		
	
	(37) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

Sure Start

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many under-fives she estimates will be included in the Sure Start programme in (a) the North East, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities are currently developing Sure Start children's centres as part of the Government's strategy to deliver better outcomes for children and families. The following table shows target reach figures for the number of under-fives expected to be supported through the Sure Start Children's Centres being created by local authorities covering (a) the North-East, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland areas by March 2006 and by March 2008.
	
		
			 Area Target number of 0 to 4's to be reached through Sure Start Children's Centres by March 2006 (Phase 1)(38) Target number of 0 to 4's to be reached through Sure Start Children's Centres by March 2008 (Phase 2)(39) 
		
		
			 North East 60,054 112,689 
			 Tees Valley (Stockton on Tees LA) 3,666 8,095 
			 Middlesbrough South (Middlesbrough LA) 4,268 7,237 
			 East Cleveland (Redcar and Cleveland LA) 3,457 6,036 
		
	
	(38) Represents target number of children to be reached in 20 per cent. most disadvantaged wards.
	(39) Totals include the figure to March 2006 and cover the rest of the children in the disadvantaged areas and beyond.

Sure Start

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many empty places there are in Sure Start nurseries in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland;
	(2)  how many under-fives entitled to free places on the Sure Start scheme are on waiting lists (a) in England, (b) in the North East, (c) in the Tees Valley and (d) in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

Beverley Hughes: All Sure Start Children's Centres provide child care. However, information about empty places or subsidised free places is not collected centrally. Sure Start Children's Centres also provide the free entitlement to child care and early learning for three and four-year-olds whose parents want it consists of a minimum of five two and a half hour sessions per week for 33 weeks of the year (usually divided into three 11 week terms) for six terms before statutory school age, which is the term following their fifth birthday.
	Some local authorities may additionally offer subsidised child care places but this information is not collected centrally.
	The latest provisional figures for January 2005 show that all four-year-old children receive some form of free entitlement. The figure for three-year-olds is 98 per cent. This covers all maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers and represents an estimated 546,400 three-year-olds and 573,500 four-year-olds.
	Related information on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency area is only available for January 2004. These figures are shown in the following table. The equivalent information for the North East Government Office region and the Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland local education authority areas is also shown for completeness.
	
		Number of free nursery education places(40) taken up by three and four-year-old children
		
			 Position as at January 2004 
			  Three-year-olds 
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools(41) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(42) Total three-year-olds(41)(42) 
		
		
			 North East Government Office Region 19,300 5,000 24,300 
			 Middlesbrough LEA 1,400 170 1,600 
			 Redcar and Cleveland LEA 1,400 90 1,400 
			 Stockton LEA 1,600 220 1,800 
			 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland parliamentary  constituency(45) 920 20 940 
		
	
	
		Position as at January 2004
		
			 Four-year-olds 
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools(43) Other maintained private, voluntary and independent providers(44) Total four-year-olds(43)(44) 
		
		
			 North East Government Office Region 25,200 1,800 28,000 
			 Middlesbrough LEA 1,600 50 1,700 
			 Redcar and Cleveland LEA 1,600 20 1,600 
			 Stockton LEA 2,100 140 2,200 
			 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland parliamentary  constituency(45) 1,000 10 1,000 
		
	
	(40) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
	(41) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(42) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(43) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(44) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(45) Providers are located in the Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland LEAs.
	The latest figures on early years provision for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 18/2005 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (provisional)", which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/

Sure Start

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what basis the decision to require child carers to renew their approval annually under the Sure Start approval scheme was made.

Beverley Hughes: Many "nannies" change employment on a regular basis and at present the enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure is only valid on the day it is issued. 90 per cent. of respondents to the consultation supported the proposal that renewal should be annual.

Management Consultancies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which five management consultancies received the highest value of contracts awarded by her Department in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of the contracts awarded to each.

Bridget Prentice: My Department has let consultancy contracts with the five following companies in the financial years shown, to the aggregate values indicated. Figures for financial year 2004–05 are not currently available.
	
		
			£ 
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 CMG 1.2 million — — 
			 PA Consulting 773,000 509,000 1.5 million 
			 Deloitte 555,000 424,000 1.3 million 
			 ASE Consulting 546,000 912,000 — 
			 CI International 522,000 641,000 — 
			 Logica CMG — 680,000 442,000 
			 PWC — — 3.1 million 
			 ORC — — 250,000 
		
	
	My Department uses consultants for the provision of expert professional advice and support on specific, time-limited tasks, usually in connection with projects, but sometimes in support of the ongoing operation of the Department.
	The levels of expenditure reflects the wide-ranging and fast-paced programme to modernise the Department's work, to increase efficiency, provide better customer service, and value for money for the taxpayer.
	Delivering such a programme, in the most effective and efficient way, has necessitated the use of external expertise and skills to supplement the Department's own resources.

Race Relations Act

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to protect small black minority and ethnic law firms as part of the proposed price competitive tendering for criminal legal aid contracts.

Bridget Prentice: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is strongly committed to promoting diversity within the supplier base and is aware of the concerns of small black and minority ethnic (BME) firms providing London based criminal defence services.
	The potential impact of competitive tendering upon BME firms was raised in the consultation paper "Improving value for money for publicly funded criminal defence services in London", published in January 2005. The LSC has been working closely with both BME suppliers and their representative bodies throughout the competitive tendering consultation process to address any concerns they may have.
	The LSC is also commissioning research into the issues faced by BME firms within the legal aid supplier base. This research will help to cultivate further measures to protect small black and minority ethnic suppliers against unfair discrimination.

Drug Rehabilitation

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-charitable organisations the Hertfordshire probation area administers for the provision of (a) drug treatment testing orders and (b) drug rehabilitation requirements.

Fiona Mactaggart: There are four non-charitable organisations involved with the provision of drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs)/drug rehabilitation requirements (DRRs) supervised by Hertfordshire probation area. These are all community drug and alcohol teams (CDATs), which deliver clinical services i.e. prescribing, clinical and psychiatric assessments to offenders on DTTOs/DRRs in Hertfordshire.

Full-time Staff

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent staff there were in (a) Home Office Central, (b) the Prison Service, (c) the United Kingdom Passport Service, (d) the Forensic Science Service and (e) the Fire Service College in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02, (iii) 2002–03, (iv) 2003–04 and (v) 2004–05.

Charles Clarke: The numbers of civil service staff on a full-time equivalent basis can be found in the following table. They are taken from the Home Office Departmental Report 2004–05 (Cm 6528).
	
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Home Office Central 13,204 13,204 14,909 17,976 19,316 
			 Prison Service 41,609 42,057 42,570 44,431 46,015 
			 UK Passport Service 1,690 2,132 2,845 2,736 2,772 
			 Forensic Science Service 1,469 2,376 2,506 2,570 2,399 
			 Fire Service College(46) 160 (47)113 — — — 
			 Total 59,930 59,927 62,833 67,713 70,502 
		
	
	(46) Fire Service College ceased to be part of the Home Office following the machinery of Government changes of 8 June 2001.
	(47) The figures given for 2001–02 are end-period FTE actuals. Other figures are calculated on a five quarter moving average.

Illegal Immigrants

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of illegal immigrants living in the UK.

Charles Clarke: No Government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case.
	Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally the Home Office published a report which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. It should be noted that the report included an estimate, not an accurate or definitive figure.
	As mentioned in the report the only method to estimate the size of the unauthorised migrant population in the UK that currently can sensibly be applied is the residual method. As the method relies on data from the census of the population undertaken every 10 years, it is not possible to produce an estimate for a more recent year.
	A copy of the Research, Development and Statistics On-line report 29/05—"Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001" can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries.html.

National Identity Register

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps will be taken to prevent confidential personal information from being (a) recorded under an individual's national identity registration number and (b) otherwise connected to that individual's record on the register, with particular reference to recording of attendance at particular hospitals and clinics.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 14 July 2005
	The purpose of the National Identity Registration Number is described in clause 2(5), which provides that
	"An entry in the Register consisting of all the information recorded about an individual must be given a unique number, to be known as the National Identity Registration Number".
	The information which can be recorded is that allowed for under Schedule one of the Identity Cards Bill and the definition of "registrable facts". Attendance at particular hospitals or clinics does not fall within the information which could be held on the Register.

National Identity Register

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for limiting the use of the proposed National Identity Registration Number, or other identifying numbers established under the Identity Cards Bill, by (a) Government Departments, (b) executive agencies, (c) private sector organisations and (d) other bodies, including other Governments.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 14 July 2005
	The Government has made clear that the National Identity Registration Number would be a general identifier under the terms of Schedule one Part two, paragraph four of the Data Protection Act 1998 which states that:
	"personal data which contain a general identifier falling within a description prescribed by the Secretary of State by order are not to be treated as processed fairly and lawfully unless they are processed in compliance with any conditions so prescribed in relation to general identifiers of that description".
	This means that the use of the number by other organisations would have to be specified in regulations.
	There is no provision for providing information to other Governments, including the National Identity Registration Number, except in the limited circumstances provided for in clause 20 relating to existing provisions in the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Any such provision of information is subject to restrictions, which means that the Secretary of State may veto the provision.

National Police Improvement Agency

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to appoint the Chief Executive of the National Police Improvement Agency.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 18 July 2005
	The recruitment process is underway and I expect to be able to make an announcement in the autumn.

Parenting Orders

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders have been made in each year since the order became available; and how many have been breached, broken down by local authority area.

Fiona Mactaggart: 284 parenting orders were made during the pilot phase between September 1998 and March 2000. 5,631 orders have been made since they became available throughout England and Wales on 1 June 2000. The Youth Justice Board collects details of parenting orders by youth offending team area and the latest available information is shown in table 1. This includes parenting orders of all kinds including those made in connection with attendance and behaviour at school. The latest available information about the number of parenting orders that have been breached, identified from data collected by courts and showing the issuing court rather than local authority area, is shown in table 2.
	
		Table 1: Parenting orders
		
			  April-March April– December 
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 11 9 11 10 13 
			 Barnet 1 7 2 12 1 
			 Barnsley 8 9 7 31 22 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 6 1 3 4 3 
			 Bedfordshire 9 13 19 14 12 
			 Bexley 0 3 3 2 0 
			 Birmingham 0 10 9 26 46 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 0 0 4 0 0 
			 Blackpool 6 5 9 23 14 
			 Bolton 22 13 15 1 14 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 8 1 1 4 13 
			 Bracknell Forest 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bradford and District 1 9 19 16 22 
			 Brent 1 0 2 6 6 
			 Bridgend 0 1 1 12 7 
			 Brighton and Hove 0 1 3 2 14 
			 Bristol 4 2 11 2 3 
			 Bromley 0 4 3 3 0 
			 Buckinghamshire 6 7 1 1 0 
			 Bury 2 3 5 7 3 
			 Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent 0 4 10 6 7 
			 Calderdale 6 9 22 5 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 1 4 1 4 
			 Camden 0 0 0 0 5 
			 Cardiff 0 1 3 2 5 
			 Carmarthenshire 0 1 6 4 4 
			 Cheshire 1 1 0 1 2 
			 City of Westminster 11 4 4 4 5 
			 Conwy and Denbighshire 5 2 4 1 3 
			 Cornwall 0 4 0 0 0 
			 Coventry 1 2 5 1 0 
			 Croydon 1 9 10 2 29 
			 Cumbria 8 4 11 5 10 
			 Darlington 8 7 7 12 10 
			 Derby City 0 1 2 1 3 
			 Derbyshire 17 7 5 7 6 
			 Devon 8 0 4 0 0 
			 Doncaster 6 0 2 4 4 
			 Dorset 0 8 2 2 5 
			 Dudley 0 0 3 10 4 
			 Durham County 9 9 6 3 21 
			 Ealing 3 7 6 1 4 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 3 6 4 5 9 
			 East Sussex 14 16 10 12 15 
			 Enfield 6 2 2 6 7 
			 Essex 10 8 27 16 17 
			 Flintshire — 3 0 2 0 
			 Flintshire and Wrexham(48) 3 4 — — — 
			 Gateshead 43 33 19 19 12 
			 Gloucestershire 0 1 10 0 0 
			 Greenwich 20 7 7 4 4 
			 Gwynedd and Mon 2 11 0 0 0 
			 Hackney 0 0 3 1 1 
			 Halton and Warrington 4 0 0 0 2 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4 3 7 8 4 
			 Haringey 1 0 7 5 7 
			 Harrow 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Hartlepool 2 1 3 6 3 
			 Havering 4 3 3 4 3 
			 Hertfordshire 28 24 7 7 8 
			 Hillingdon 1 10 8 7 3 
			 Hounslow 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Islington 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 8 0 6 5 6 
			 Kent 14 29 18 15 28 
			 Kingston 11 5 3 1 1 
			 Kingston upon Hull 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Kirklees 4 16 13 18 9 
			 Knowsley 10 3 1 1 1 
			 Lambeth 2 13 16 16 23 
			 Lancashire 39 15 7 19 40 
			 Leeds 2 0 4 2 6 
			 Leicester City 21 46 50 29 18 
			 Leicestershire 1 4 15 6 2 
			 Lewisham 4 9 12 6 8 
			 Lincolnshire 4 2 4 2 2 
			 Liverpool 1 0 0 2 9 
			 Luton 5 2 6 1 1 
			 Manchester 41 2 18 12 15 
			 Medway 2 5 8 5 25 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Merton 8 3 2 0 16 
			 Mid Wales (Powys and Ceredigion) 1 1 0 2 1 
			 Milton Keynes 0 2 0 0 0 
			 NE Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Neath Port Talbot 0 0 0 7 0 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 0 0 10 11 1 
			 Newham 3 12 1 4 1 
			 Newport 2 0 3 15 11 
			 Norfolk 13 29 28 0 1 
			 North Lincolnshire 1 1 1 0 1 
			 North Somerset 0 0 1 1 6 
			 North Tyneside 2 3 12 1 1 
			 North Yorkshire 16 1 15 8 8 
			 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 1 20 
			 Northumberland 0 1 2 2 6 
			 Nottingham City 4 5 4 5 11 
			 Nottinghamshire 8 4 4 4 0 
			 Oldham 9 6 9 0 0 
			 Oxfordshire 3 0 2 1 6 
			 Pembrokeshire 1 8 3 2 4 
			 Peterborough 9 21 13 11 17 
			 Plymouth 0 1 1 2 1 
			 Reading and Wokingham 7 0 3 5 3 
			 Redbridge 1 4 4 11 2 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 9 4 3 7 
			 Rochdale 4 10 12 5 1 
			 Rotherham 0 0 9 1 0 
			 Salford 6 1 11 2 9 
			 Sandwell 1 17 5 5 3 
			 Sefton 4 0 1 1 1 
			 Sheffield 8 8 3 0 5 
			 Shropshire and Telford/Wrekin 11 15 3 7 5 
			 Slough 0 4 4 1 0 
			 Solihull 4 3 0 5 1 
			 Somerset 5 14 3 0 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 1 0 0 0 1 
			 South Tees 0 3 2 10 2 
			 South Tyneside 20 15 14 13 18 
			 Southend-on-Sea 5 22 6 8 14 
			 Southwark 29 11 18 37 6 
			 St. Helens 13 8 2 0 1 
			 Staffordshire 2 5 3 2 0 
			 Stockport 1 9 16 2 2 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1 41 4 10 0 
			 Stoke on Trent 1 7 4 10 12 
			 Suffolk 19 36 14 33 29 
			 Sunderland 45 33 81 124 26 
			 Surrey 3 1 2 2 17 
			 Sutton 5 11 3 2 2 
			 Swansea 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Swindon 5 3 7 0 6 
			 Tameside 0 1 0 3 6 
			 Thurrock 5 9 2 2 2 
			 Torbay 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Torfaen and Monmouthshire 0 6 5 2 1 
			 Tower Hamlets and City of London 11 0 14 45 8 
			 Trafford 9 9 0 3 7 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 0 18 0 0 0 
			 Wakefield 10 5 0 1 5 
			 Walsall 2 2 8 3 2 
			 Waltham Forest 2 4 8 3 6 
			 Wandsworth 4 17 10 6 43 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Wessex 119 103 150 73 94 
			 West Berkshire 0 6 1 0 1 
			 West Sussex 2 10 35 32 22 
			 Wigan 26 146 2 12 22 
			 Wiltshire 3 0 3 5 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 0 3 0 1 0 
			 Wirral 2 1 14 4 2 
			 Wolverhampton 6 11 13 5 8 
			 Worcestershire and Herefordshire 12 6 9 13 23 
			 Wrexham — 5 2 10 2 
			 York 2 2 5 6 3 
			 Total 979 1,216 1,176 1,098 1,162 
			 Grant total 5,631 
		
	
	(48) Flintshire and Wrexham YOT was split into Flintshire YOT and Wrexham YOT during the financial year 2001–02 so orders are listed against Flintshire and Wrexham YOT, Flintshire YOT and Wrexham YOT.
	
		Table 2: Breach of parenting orders
		
			 Court Number of breaches 
		
		
			 2000  
			 Stockport 1 
			 Leeds 1 
			 Bolton 1 
			 Cardiff 1 
			 South East Hampshire 2 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 1 
			 Oldham 1 
			 Luton and South Bedfordshire 2 
			 Carlisle and District 1 
			 Total 11 
			   
			 2001  
			 Wrexham Maelor (youth) 1 
			 Goole and Howdenshire 1 
			 Norwich 1 
			 Sutton 1 
			 Southampton 2 
			 St. Helens Division 1 
			 West Norfolk 2 
			 Luton and South Bedfordshire 1 
			 South Hampshire 1 
			 South Tyneside District 1 
			 South East Hampshire 2 
			 Total 14 
			   
			 2002  
			 Wrexham Maelor 2 
			 Sunderland (youth) 1 
			 Gwynedd 2 
			 Norwich 3 
			 Tynedale 1 
			 Walsall 1 
			 Bath and Wansdyke 2 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 1 
			 Blackpool and Fylde 2 
			 Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston 1 
			 Central Buckinghamshire 1 
			 Barnet 1 
			 Sunderland 2 
			 North East Essex 1 
			 Mansfield 1 
			 Doncaster 1 
			 Cambridge 1 
			 Total 24 
			   
			 2003  
			 South Tyneside 1 
			 Wigan and Leigh 1 
			 Northern Oxfordshire 2 
			 Blackpool and Fylde 3 
			 West London mg court 1 
			 North Tyneside (youth) 1 
			 Sunderland 1 
			 Hull and Holderness (youth) 1 
			 Sutton 1 
			 West Norfolk 1 
			 Sussex (Eastern) 1 
			 South East Essex 1 
			 Llanelli 1 
			 New Forest 1 
			 Total 17

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have committed suicide in prison since 1 January, broken down by (a) prison, (b) offence and (c) length of sentence; and how many were (i) under 21 years, (ii) 21 to 40 years, (iii) 40 to 60 years and (iv) over 60 years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested with respect to apparently self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales, one January—end 11 July 2005 is shown in the following tables:
	(a) Establishment:
	
		
			 Establishment Number of apparent self-inflicted deaths 
		
		
			 Gloucester 4 
			 Liverpool 4 
			 Altcourse 2 
			 Leicester 2 
			 Norwich 2 
			 Pentonville 2 
			 Reading 2 
			 Wandsworth 2 
			 Brinsford 1 
			 Bristol 1 
			 Brixton 1 
			 Chelmsford 1 
			 Dorchester 1 
			 Durham 1 
			 Eastwood Park 1 
			 Exeter 1 
			 Full Sutton 1 
			 Holme House 1 
			 Lancaster Farms 1 
			 Leeds 1 
			 Lowdham Grange 1 
			 New Hall 1 
			 Nottingham 1 
			 Preston 1 
			 Rye Hill 1 
			 Stoke Heath 1 
			 Swaleside 1 
			 Swansea 1 
			 Wakefield 1 
			 Weare 1 
			 Wymott 1 
			 Total 43 
		
	
	(b) Offence type:
	
		
			  Offence type Number of apparent self-inflicted deaths 
		
		
			 Violence against the Person 18 
			 Sexual Offences 4 
			 Burglary 4 
			 Robbery 6 
			 Theft and Handling 5 
			 Fraud and Forgery 1 
			 Drug Offences 1 
			 Other Criminal Offences 1 
			 Offences not recorded 1 
			 Arson and Criminal Damage 2 
			 Total 43 
		
	
	(c) Length of sentence:
	
		
			  Sentence length category Number of apparently self-inflicted deaths 
		
		
			 unsentenced 25 
			 >three months and }12 months 2 
			 >12 months and }18 months 1 
			 >18 months and }three years 1 
			 >three years and }5 years 2 
			 >five years and }10 years 5 
			 >10 years and <life 1 
			 life 6 
			 Total 43 
		
	
	(d) Age:
	
		
			  Age Category Number of apparently self-inflicted deaths 
		
		
			 Under 21 years 6 
			 21 years-39 years 26 
			 40 years-59 years 9 
			 Over 60 years 2 
			 Total 43

Secure Training Centres

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid by (a) his Department and (b) the Youth Justice Board to each of the contractors running secure training centres in each financial year of their operation.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 11 July 2005
	During the period for which information is available, the following sums were paid by the Youth Justice Board:
	
		Sums paid to secure training centre contractors £
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Medway(49) 8,163,295 11,457,209 11,770,212 
			 Rainsbrook(50) 8,530,938 9,684,21 1 9,830,808 
			 Hassockfield 5,309,844 5,490,488 5,508,766 
			 Oakhill — — 7,241,944 
		
	
	(49) Medway increased from 44 beds to 76 in November 2002
	(50) Rainsbrook increased from 44 beds to 76 in June 2002

Victims of Crime

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list organisations which have received funding from the Victims Fund to develop community-based services for victims of sexual crime, broken down by amount.

Fiona Mactaggart: A list of the organisations and amounts awarded from the Victims Fund in 2004–05 and 2005–06 will be published on the Government funding website in due course, in accordance with established best practice under the compact. Details of the successful organisations are set out in the following table.
	
		Victims Fund: Provision for victims of sexual offending £
		
			 Successful applicant organisations (second round: 2005–06)  
		
		
			 Barnardo's (Ilford) 35,000 
			 Barnsley Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Helpline 40,000 
			 Birmingham Women's Aid 35,000 
			 Breaking Free (National) 30,000 
			 Choices (Cambridge and Suffolk) 26,475 
			 CIS'ters (National) 40,000 
			 Colchester Rape Crisis Line 35,000 
			 Cornwall Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre 36,110 
			 Crisis Point (Walsall) 34,000 
			 Devon Youth Association 25,000 
			 Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre 36,150 
			 East Kent Rape Line 35,000 
			 East Surrey Domestic Violence Forum 14,480 
			 Eaves Housing for Women (The Lilith Project) 39,018 
			 Family Matters (Kent) 35,000 
			 Grimsby and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis 24,405 
			 ISAS—Incest and Sexual Abuse Survivors  (Nottinghamshire) 30,000 
			 The Jigsaw Project (Lincolnshire) 30,000 
			 Kinergy (Bristol) 35,000 
			 Life centre (Chichester) 30,000 
			 The Magdalene Project (Lancashire) 34,500 
			 Manchester Rape Crisis 30,000 
			 Male Abuse Recovery Service (Peterborough) 9,300 
			 Merseyside Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre 22,500 
			 National Association for People Abused in Childhood  (NAPAC) 15,000 
			 NCH Cymru (Conwy) 40,000 
			 New Pathways (Merthyr Tydfil) 25,000 
			 The Nia Project (London) 35,000 
			 Northampton Women's Aid 30,000 
			 Northumbria Police (Operation Phoenix) 35,000 
			 Nottingham Rape Crisis 26,515 
			 One in Four (London) 30,000 
			 The Place2Be (National) 20,065 
			 The Quetzal Project (Leicestershire) 35,000 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (Guildford) 40,000 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (Warrington) 40,000 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (Warrington) 35,000 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (Croydon) 40,000 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (North West  Wales) 35,000 
			 Rape and Sexual Violence Project (Birmingham) 40,000 
			 The Rape Crisis Co-ordination .Group (National) 30,800 
			 Reigate and Redhill YMCA 35,000 
			 Respond (London) 25,000 
			 Rights of Women (National) 4,000 
			 SEREN (Aberystwyth) 20,990 
			 Sheffield Women's Counselling and Therapy Service 35,840 
			 Southampton Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse  Counselling Service 35,000 
			 South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre 30,000 
			 Streetreach (Doncaster) 30,000 
			 Step Forward (London 30,000 
			 Survivors (Hull and East Riding) 35,000 
			 Survivors Network (Brighton) 26,339 
			 The Survivors Trust (National) 40,000 
			 Survivors UK (National) 40,000 
			 Twelve's Company (Plymouth) 23,707 
			 West Cumbria Rape Crisis 35,000 
			 Women and Girls Network (London) 35,000 
			 Women's Counselling Service (Hounslow) 33,360 
			 Women's Counselling and Therapy Service (Leeds) 27,435 
			 Women's Rape and Sexual Violence Service (Hanley) 35,000 
			 Women's Support Network (Middlesbrough) 35,000 
			 Worcestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Support  Centre 24,142 
			   
			 Successful applicant organisations (second round: 2004–05) 
			 Barnardo's (Ilford) 2,701 
			 Breaking Free (National) 10,284 
			 CIS'ters (National) 23,350 
			 Colchester Rape Crisis Line 35,450 
			 Cornwall Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre 8,120 
			 Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre 4,910 
			 Devon Youth Association 4,200 
			 Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre 3,066 
			 East Kent Rape Line 9,688 
			 East Surrey Domestic Violence Forum 2,500 
			 Eaves Housing for Women (The Lilith Project) 14,329 
			 Family Matters (Kent) 5,752 
			 Grimsby and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis 6,102 
			 HEAL—Helping Everyone Abuse Live (Colchester) 10,286 
			 The Jigsaw Project (Lincolnshire) 9,975 
			 Merseyside Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre 12,672 
			 National Association for People Abused in Childhood  (NAPAC) 15,000 
			 NCH Cymru (Conwy) 8,300 
			 New Pathways (Merthyr Tydfil) 16,500 
			 The Nia Project (London) 8,960 
			 Northampton Women's Aid 12,502 
			 Northumbria Police (Operation Phoenix) 20,000 
			 One in Four (London) 24,993 
			 The Place2Be (National) 6,435 
			 The Quetzal Project (Leicestershire) 46,000 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (Warrington) 5,995 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (Warrington) 7,745 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (Croydon) 27,080 
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (North West  Wales) 7,685 
			 Rape and Sexual Violence Project (Birmingham) 12,500 
			 The Rape Crisis Co-ordination Group (National) 18,200 
			 Reigate and Redhill YMCA 10,476 
			 Respond (London) 6,250 
			 Rights of Women (National) 21,000 
			 Sexual and Domestic Abuse and Rape Advice Centre  (Staffordshire) 18,036 
			 Sheffield Women's Counselling and Therapy Service 12,500 
			 Southampton Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse  Counselling Service 3,700 
			 South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre 31,520 
			 Step Forward (London) 10,907 
			 The Survivors Trust (National) 32,800 
			 Survivors UK (National) 24,600 
			 Women and Girls Network (London) 31,700 
			 Women's Counselling Service (Hounslow) 2,000 
			 Women's Counselling and Therapy Service (Leeds) 670 
			 Women's Support Network (Middlesbrough) 19,450 
			 Worcestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Support  Centre 23,439

Administrative Costs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the annual cost to his Department of administering the (a) state pension and (b) pension credit; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Information is not currently available in the format requested. We expect information on administration costs for state pension and pension credit to be available after our new suite of Resource Management systems is introduced in The Pension Service in early 2006. Preliminary work will provide some data in the autumn of this year. In the meantime, the department's administration costs are set out by individual Request for Resources (RfR) in the Departmental Resource Accounts, copies of which are placed in the Library.

Benefit Fraud Hotline

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls have been made in each year to the benefit fraud hotline since the service started.

James Plaskitt: Information regarding calls made to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline has only been available from April 2004. Between April 2004 and March 2005, 278,513 calls were made. However, available information regarding the number of calls actually answered from 1997 is in the table.
	
		Calls answered by the National Benefit Fraud Hotline
		
			 April to March Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 188,038 
			 1998–99 170,032 
			 1999–2000 162,067 
			 2000–01 208,201 
			 2001–02 205,999 
			 2002–03 159,290 
			 2003–04 211,054 
			 2004–05 199,004 
		
	
	Note:
	Information not held prior to April 1997.
	Source:
	National Benefit Fraud Hotline

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the members of the Child Support Agency's management board since 2001; when each became a member; and what the reasons for each leaving the board were.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the requested information.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty to Mr. David Laws, dated 19 July 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list the members of the Child Support Agency's management board since 2001; when each became a member; and what the reasons for each leaving the board were.
	I have listed below the executive and non-executive members of the CSA management board since 2001 in order of appointment, providing reasons for leaving where appropriate.
	
		Executive members
		
			  Appointment Reason for leaving 
		
		
			 Mick Davison September 1995 to January 2003 Moved to a new role within DWP 
			 Mike Isaac April 1996 to present — 
			 Gerry Keenan November 1998 to January 2004 Moved to a new role within the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland 
			 Vince Gaskell November 1999 to August 2003 Left DWP 
			 Paul Medley January 2000 to May 2002 Moved to a new role within DWP 
			 Marietta Di Ciacca February 2000 to January 2001 Moved to a new role within DWP 
			 Dorit Braun September 2002 to December 2004 Resigned 
			 Barbara Moorhouse February 2003 to present — 
			 John Cross July 2003 to present — 
		
	
	I hope you find this helpful.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the purpose of the Child Support Agency's War Room.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. David Laws, dated 19 July 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am responding on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the purpose of the Child Support Agency's War Room.
	"War Room" is an informal term used by many organisations to identify meetings held to discuss subjects of high importance and/or great complexity. This is also true for the Child Support Agency.
	I hope you find this reply helpful.

Housing Allowance/Benefit

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals have been made against housing benefit decisions in each year since 1997; and in what proportion of cases the appeal was decided in favour of the appellant.

Anne McGuire: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, chief executive of the Appeals Service. She will write to the hon. Member.

Pension Schemes/Service

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down the proportion of the total national insurance contracted out rebate going into (a) public and (b) private pension schemes by type of scheme for the latest year for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 14 July 2005
	The information is in the table and is based on the number of people in contracted-out schemes during the 2002–03 tax year, the latest year for which information is available:
	
		
			  Percentage of total rebate 
			 Type of scheme Public Private Total 
		
		
			 Contracted out salary related 36 26 62 
			 Contracted out money purchase — 2 2 
			 Contracted out mixed benefit — 4 4 
			 Appropriate personal pension — 32 32 
			 Total 36 64 100 
		
	
	Note:
	Percentages rounded to nearest whole figure.
	Source:
	"Second Tier Pensions provision" published by the Department for Work and Pensions using the Lifetime Labour Market Database which uses a 1 per cent. sample of national insurance records.

Pension Schemes/Service

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension schemes in Coventry South operate under a defined benefit scheme.

Margaret Hodge: Information relating specifically to Coventry South is not available. There are around 110 such schemes in Coventry.

Abortions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many abortions were performed in Southend Primary Care Trust, broken down by (a) grounds, (b) the age of the woman and (c) the number of previous abortions in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many abortions were carried out at each week of gestation between 18 and 32 in the last year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many women in England had an abortion in each of the last five years for which figures are available who already had had (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) five previous abortions;
	(4)  how many women in the Southend area had an abortion in each of the last five years for which figures are available who already had had (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) five previous abortions;
	(5)  what the total number of abortions performed in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland was in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many were performed in (i) NHS and (ii) private hospitals;
	(6)  how many selective reduction abortions there were in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(7)  whether her Department requires doctors performing selective reduction of pregnancies to require a certificate stating the grounds for termination of unborn babies under the Abortion Act 1967;
	(8)  what proportion of women having an abortion in the latest year for which figures are available were married at the time of the abortion; what the statistical mode figures were for (a) the age of the woman, (b) the gestation of the pregnancy, (c) the number of previous children born to the woman and (d) the number of previous abortions undergone by the woman; and what the most common legal grounds were under which the abortion was performed.

Caroline Flint: The Abortion Act 1967 requires any registered medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy to give notice of the termination to the Chief Medical Officer, including selective reduction of pregnancies.
	The available information for abortions performed in England and Wales is contained in the annual Office for National Statistics publication, "Abortion Statistics, series A8"; Office for National Statistics and the Department's, "Statistical Bulletin 2003/23", and "Statistical Bulletin 2004/14". Data for 1991 onwards can be found on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/StatisticalPublicHealth/fs/en. Copies of the publications are also available in the Library.

Abortions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed on girls aged (a) 10, (b) 11, (c) 12, (d) 13, (e) 14, (f) 15, (g) 16 and (h) 17 years of age in each year since 1975; and how many were performed to save the life of the pregnant woman.

Caroline Flint: The information available is shown in the table.
	With regard to the number of abortions performed to save the life of the pregnant woman, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier.
	
		Legal abortions: number of abortions by age between 10 and 17 years, residents, England and Wales, 1975 to 2003
		
			   Ages 
			  Total all ages 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 
		
		
			 1975 106,224 0 0 12 120 747 2,691 5,411 6,394 
			 1976 101,912 0 6 14 122 738 2,545 5,429 6,285 
			 1977 102,677 0 1 13 105 804 2,701 5,510 6,367 
			 1978 111,851 0 3 20 113 708 2,454 5,675 6,733 
			 1979 120,611 0 9 12 116 698 2,693 6,030 7,412 
			 1980 128,927 0 5 17 139 769 2,716 6,330 7,932 
			 1981 128,581 (51)— (51)— (51)— (51)— (52)830 2,701 (51)— (51)— 
			 1982 128,553 (51)— (51)— (51)— (51)— (52)931 2,921 (51)— (51)— 
			 1983 127,375 (51)— (51)— (51)— (51)— (52)1,029 3,058 (51)— (51)— 
			 1984 136,388 0 1 9 111 898 3,139 6,802 8,406 
			 1985 141,101 0 0 7 118 899 2,978 6,648 8,432 
			 1986 147,619 0 0 5 77 842 2,970 6,175 8,309 
			 1987 156,191 1 1 10 114 781 2,58 6,251 8,252 
			 1988 168,298 0 0 7 88 764 2,709 6,513 9,212 
			 1989 170,463 0 0 9 72 722 2,80 5,961 8,560 
			 1990 173,900 0 2 7 100 764 2,549 5,555 8,156 
			 1991 167,376 0 2 8 119 757 2272 4940 7053 
			 1992 160,501 0 0 8 135 762 2,095 4,436 6,251 
			 1993 157,846 0 0 8 133 823 2,119 4,109 5,844 
			 1994 156,539 0 1 13 148 918 2,166 4,270 5,699 
			 1995 154,315 0 1 12 129 804 2,24 4,45 5,791 
			 1996 167,916 0 0 7 173 917 2,547 5,209 6,994 
			 1997 170,145 1 0 17 140 862 2,414 5,231 7,427 
			 1998 177,871 0 2 11 162 928 2,656 5,372 8,055 
			 1999 173,701 0 2 8 152 903 2,537 5,319 7,639 
			 2000 175,542 0 2 15 144 886 2,700 5,439 7,895 
			 2001 176,364 0 1 15 132 918 2,592 5,652 7,963 
			 2002 175,932 (51)— (51)— (51)— (53)168 907 2,658 5,633 8,083 
			 2003 181,582 (51)— (51)— (51)— (53)148 1,023 2,796 5,768 8,387 
		
	
	(51) not published.
	2 data relate to age under 15.
	(52) data relate to age under 14.

Abortions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the number of (a) live births and (b) abortions was in each year since 1976.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Number of live births and abortions, England and Wales, 1976 to 2004(53)
		
			  Live births Abortions 
		
		
			 1976 584,270 129,673 
			 1977 569,259 133,004 
			 1978 596,418 141,558 
			 1979 638,028 149,746 
			 1980 656,234 160,903 
			 1981 634,492 162,480 
			 1982 625,931 163,045 
			 1983 629,134 162,161 
			 1984 636,818 169,993 
			 1985 656,417 171,873 
			 1986 661,018 172,286 
			 1987 681,511 174,276 
			 1988 693,577 183,798 
			 1989 687,725 183,974 
			 1990 706,140 186,912 
			 1991 699,217 179,522 
			 1992 689,656 172,069 
			 1993 673,467 168,714 
			 1994 664,726 166,876 
			 1995 648,138 163,638 
			 1996 649,485 177,495 
			 1997 643,095 179,746 
			 1998 635,901 187,402 
			 1999 621,872 183,250 
			 2000 604,441 185,375 
			 2001 594,634 186,274 
			 2002 596,122 185,385 
			 2003 621,469 190,660 
			 2004 639,721 n/a 
		
	
	(53) Number of live births relate to births occurring in England and Wales. Number of abortions relate to residents of England and Wales.

Abortions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations in the field of reproductive health are funded by her Department; how much was given to each in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and whether account is taken of an organisation's stance on abortion in allocating public funds.

Caroline Flint: Amounts received by voluntary organisations in the reproductive health field funded by the Department through the Section 64 grant scheme over the past five years are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			   £ 
			  Name of voluntary organisation 
			 Financial year Brook Family planning association 
		
		
			 2001–02 105,000 80,000 
			 2002–03 100,000 80,000 
			 2003–04 90,000 100,000 
			 2004–05 90,000 95,000 
			 2005–06 90,000 170,000 
			 Total 475,000 525,000 
		
	
	A further £11,000 was also provided as a one-off payment to the organisation Education for Choice in 2004, as a contribution towards the costs of website development.
	In addition, the following voluntary organisations in the field of assisted reproduction have received Departmental funding within the last five years:
	British Infertility Counselling Association.
	CHILD (The National Infertility Support Network).
	Infertility Network UK.
	ISSUE (The National Fertility Association Ltd).
	National Gamete Donation Trust.
	The total amount of funding provided each year to these organisations is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Total (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02 73,357 
			 2002–03 102,000 
			 2003–04 165,000 
			 2004–05 186,515 
			 2005–06 100,900 
			 Total(54) 627,772 
		
	
	(54) Grand total for five years.
	The Department considers requests for funding on a case by case basis and will fund organisations where they represent value for money and where we are confident that they have the skills, knowledge and capacity to deliver what is required.
	Funding has also been provided to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as shown in the following table.
	
		Departmental funding for HFEA since 2001–02(55)
		
			 £ million 
			  Baseline Register(56) Accommodation(57) Other projects Total 
		
		
			 2001–02 0.577 — — 0.967(58) 1.544 
			 2002–03 0.577 1.195 0.067 — 1.839 
			 2003–04 1.650 1.957 0.433 — 4.040 
			 2004–05 1.500 4.350 — — 5.850 
			 2005–06(59) 1.500 4.767 — — 6.267 
		
	
	(55) All funds paid by the Department, home country contribution (based on the Barnet Formula) recovered during financial year.
	(56) Project funding for the redevelopment for the database register and audit of the accuracy of previously recorded data.
	(57) Project funding towards costs of relocation to new premises at 21 Bloomsbury Street.
	(58) Additional funds to offset in-year budget pressures.
	(59) Provisional funding for 2005–06.
	The HFEA is a statutory regulatory body. For that reason, it does not promote a view on abortion issues.

Abortions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when each of the nine recommendations contained in the report of the Select Committee on the Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1975 were implemented;
	(2)  if she will list the recommendations contained in the Select Committee on the Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1975, and the First and Second Reports from the Select Committee on Abortion 1975–76 which were implemented (a) in part and (b) in full.

Caroline Flint: The nine recommendations of the Select Committee on the Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1974–75 were implemented as follows:
	
		Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1974–75
		
			   Recommendation 
		
		
			 1 Counselling of women Implemented in full in July 1977 (HC(77)26). 
			 2 Examination of the women Implemented in part in March 1976 (SI 1976 No.15). 
			 3 Certification and notification Implemented in part in March 1981 (SI 1980 No. 1724). 
			 4 Disclosure of information Implemented in full in March 1976 (SI 1976 No. 15). 
			 5 Private sector arrangements Implemented in part in September 1975 through the system of "assurances", which proprietors of approved places are required to give to the Secretary of State. 
			 6 Foreign women Implemented in part in December 1975. 
			 7 National health service—termination after the 20th week Discussed with regional medical Officers in 1975 and 1983. 
			 8 Referral agencies Implemented in full in March 1977. 
			 9 The use of foetuses and foetal material for research (the Peel Report) The Peel code of practice issued in 1972 was voluntarily accepted by the professions. The Department ensures that arrangements for supply of foetal material for research from private sector places carrying out abortions comply with the code of practice. 
		
	
	Updating this information and providing information on the additional recommendations contained in the first and second reports from the Select Committee on Abortion, session 1975–76, could be done only at disproportionate cost. Since 1976, a wide range of issues relating to abortion were considered by Parliament during the debates informing the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. In 2001, the national strategy for sexual health and HIV set out the Government's 10 year strategy for sexual health, further bolstered by the 2004 public health White Paper. In this context, the Health Select Committee has itself conducted inquiries into sexual and reproductive health, including abortion issues, in 2003 and 2005.
	It is accepted parliamentary practice that proposals for changes in the law on abortion have come from hon. and right hon. Members on the back benches and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes. The Government has no plans to change the law on abortion.

Alcohol-related Illness

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people (a) under and (b) over the age of 18 were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related problems in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, broken down by region.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Counts of finished admission episodes for selected alcohol-related diseases(60) by strategic health authority (SHA) of residence and age grouping, national health service hospitals, England 1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 
			 SHA Under 18 Over 18 Under 18 Over 18 Under 18 Over 18 Under 18 Over 18 
		
		
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 108 713 149 876 115 1,061 143 1,133 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 139 526 159 677 148 712 158 734 
			 Essex 69 672 55 771 47 681 58 783 
			 North West London 56 1,008 51 1,432 45 1,528 50 1,124 
			 North Central London 65 761 43 901 28 893 52 901 
			 North East London 56 851 45 946 47 974 53 1,056 
			 South East London 69 926 71 1,286 48 1,198 71 1,360 
			 South West London 100 762 94 765 79 713 87 876 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 226 1,513 238 1,236 195 1,640 198 1,690 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 257 959 282 1,014 213 1,083 239 1,102 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincs. 144 928 108 537 198 1,331 253 1,414 
			 West Yorkshire 228 1,351 225 1,411 206 1,254 237 1,376 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 252 2,259 261 2,148 221 1,942 313 1,811 
			 Greater Manchester 271 2,766 278 2,470 251 2,291 290 2,309 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 356 2,983 332 3,085 296 2,955 319 2,961 
			 Thames Valley 69 858 86 935 100 866 111 854 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 97 1,118 107 1,141 117 1,361 138 1,328 
			 Kent and Medway 115 806 123 597 119 597 127 676 
			 Surrey and Sussex 159 1,530 168 1,475 167 1,417 207 1,244 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 127 1,184 119 1,211 149 1,200 124 1,234 
			 South West Peninsula 123 943 148 1,045 107 926 137 966 
			 Dorset and Somerset 76 908 92 726 95 737 90 935 
			 South Yorkshire 153 761 126 868 148 887 170 869 
			 Trent 193 1,848 245 1,647 202 2,011 259 2,068 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 94 667 117 672 114 851 126 788 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 155 1,035 182 1,227 141 1,102 169 1,048 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 169 2,047 208 2,106 203 1,861 281 1,866 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and  Worcestershire 170 1,388 182 1,294 173 1,133 199 1,231 
			 Scotland 2 21 4 19 2 24 6 38 
			 England—not otherwise specified 3 330 9 414 8 499 — — 
			 Wales 17 91 17 125 17 116 25 218 
			 Foreign (includes Isle of Man and Channel Islands) 6 38 4 34 9 36 13 43 
			 Unknown 49 1,176 93 1,934 18 570 35 1,016 
			 Northern Ireland — 13 — 6 — 15 — 8 
			 Totals 4,173 35,740 4,421 37,031 4,026 36,465 4,738 37,060 
		
	
	
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
			 Region Under 18 Over 18 Under 18 Over 18 Under 18 Over 18 Under 18 Over 18 
		
		
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 144 1,133 130 1,135 115 1,208 144 1,338 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 122 629 176 687 148 707 133 815 
			 Essex 61 768 43 761 52 779 64 981 
			 North West London 54 955 61 1,106 60 1,204 86 1,423 
			 North Central London 49 814 44 807 59 874 62 906 
			 North East London 30 889 52 977 64 1,036 86 1,157 
			 South East London 53 1,113 47 1,017 62 1,289 88 1,392 
			 South West London 102 850 115 761 129 863 135 1,049 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 219 1,567 172 1,486 159 1,510 117 1,533 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 241 1,066 183 1,079 123 929 142 1,225 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincs. 221 1,232 224 1,246 170 1,209 252 1,292 
			 West Yorkshire 168 1,509 192 1,509 204 1,484 186 1,539 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 294 1,823 288 2,168 273 2,023 250 2,054 
			 Greater Manchester 342 2,301 285 2,311 271 2,162 344 2,522 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 314 3,156 315 3,459 323 3,517 349 3,771 
			 Thames Valley 69 913 129 954 89 975 116 1,063 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 133 1,315 119 1,290 151 1,405 181 1,307 
			 Kent and Medway 99 665 151 650 116 734 145 766 
			 Surrey and Sussex 235 1,260 295 1,256 253 1,496 266 1,543 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 122 1,017 144 1,094 126 1,107 170 1,230 
			 South West Peninsula 110 1,114 110 1,152 128 1,218 198 1,292 
			 Dorset and Somerset 98 731 97 712 85 660 85 730 
			 South Yorkshire 139 951 103 831 89 957 100 1,146 
			 Trent 232 2,006 251 1,875 211 1J32 218 2,060 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 98 768 91 652 84 853 92 1,111 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 135 950 148 1,002 138 1,097 176 1,276 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 267 1,842 247 1,908 185 1,978 237 2,113 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and  Worcestershire 194 1,107 142 1,026 143 1,181 152 1,135 
			 Scotland 4 29 2 35 6 24 6 47 
			 England—not otherwise specified 5 495 7 529 8 553 17 705 
			 Wales 16 84 23 111 18 89 12 104 
			 Foreign (includes Isle of Man and Channel Islands) 10 44 6 47 10 47 9 61 
			 Unknown 32 500 42 558 27 445 29 417 
			 Northern Ireland — 7 — 6 — 8 — 19 
			 Totals 4,412 35,603 4,434 36,197 4,079 37,453 4,647 41,122 
		
	
	(60) Alcohol-related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes recorded in primary diagnosis—F10 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol, K70 Alcoholic liver disease, T51 Toxic effect of alcohol.
	Source:
	Hospital episode statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Arrhythmias and Sudden Death Programme Board

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the representation from Northern Ireland on the new Arrhythmias and Sudden Death Programme Board;
	(2)  whether the new National Service Framework chapter on arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death extends to Northern Ireland.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 13 July 2005
	Chapter eight of the national service framework for coronary heart disease, "Arrhythmias and Sudden Cardiac Death", was written and produced in consultation with a large expert group, including members from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
	The Arrhythmias and Sudden Death Programme Board has been formed to implement the chapter but with the membership limited. Devolved Administrations such as Northern Ireland will not be represented on the board because it is responsible for implementation of the new chapter in England.

Bedfordshire Health Spending

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent per capita from central Government funds on health in the county of Bedfordshire in each year since 2000.

Rosie Winterton: The expenditure per weighted head on health in Bedfordshire Health Authority (HA) area, which corresponded to the county of Bedfordshire and Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area is shown in the table. Expenditure based on the county of Bedfordshire is not available for 2002–03 and 2003–04.
	
		
			   £ per head 
			  Bedfordshire Health Authority area Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority area 
		
		
			 2000–01 779.74 n/a 
			 2001–02 970.12 n/a 
			 2002–03 n/a 939.08 
			 2003–04 n/a 1,061.38 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Expenditure is taken from audited HA summarisation forms and primary care trust summarisation schedules which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The figures have not been adjusted for inflation.
	2. Figures for 2000–01 and 2001–02 have been prepared using gross expenditure figures. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have been adjusted to eliminate expenditure which would be double counted where an authority acts as a lead in commissioning health care or other services.
	3. In many HAs there are factors which distort the expenditure. These include:
	the HA acting in a lead capacity to commission healthcare or fund training on behalf of other health bodies; and
	asset revaluations in national health service trusts being funded through HAs or primary
	care trusts (PCTs).
	4. The majority of general dental services expenditure is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice board. An element of pharmaceutical services expenditure is accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority. Total expenditure on these items by the Dental Practice Board and the Prescription Pricing Authority cannot be allocated to individual health bodies. Therefore, the total expenditure in the answer by health authority does not capture all NHS expenditure within the area.
	Sources:
	Bedfordshire HA audited summarisation forms 2000–01 and 2001–02.
	Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA audited summarisation forms 2002–03 and 2003–04.
	PCT audited summarisation schedules 2001–02 to 2003–04 for bodies within the above HA areas weighted population figures.

Breastfeeding

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the baseline breastfeeding initiation data as outlined in the Priorities and Planning Framework 2003 to 2006 are for each primary care trust.

Caroline Flint: Data for breastfeeding initiation is not yet sufficiently robust to reliably assess levels of breastfeeding initiation for all primary care trusts (PCTs). However, the data quality is improving. The percentage of others for whom breastfeeding initiation status was not known decreased from 14.6 per cent. in 2003–04 to 5.6 per cent. in 2004–05. We continue to monitor the progress of PCTs in improving the data quality.

Cancelled Operations (Southend)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations in Southend primary care trust were cancelled on (a) the day of and (b) the day after admission; and how many of these patients were not readmitted within a month in each quarter of the last five years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect information about cancelled operations at primary care trust level.
	However, the table shows the number of operations cancelled at the last minute for non clinical reasons and the number of patients not admitted within 28 days at Southend Hospital National Health Service Trust.
	
		
			 Quarter Number of last minute cancellations for non clinical reasons in the quarter Number of patients not admitted within 28 days of cancellation on the day of surgery 
		
		
			 2004–05   
			 April-June 124 5 
			 July-September 250 30 
			 October-December 298 28 
			 January-March 335 39 
			
			 2003–04   
			 April-June 177 1 
			 July-September 149 1 
			 October-December 226 3 
			 January-March 139 2 
			
			 2002–03   
			 April-June 81 11 
			 July-September 34 3 
			 October-December 179 5 
			 January-March 215 4 
			
			 2001–02   
			 April-June 86 0 
			 July-September 113 0 
			 October-December 104 0 
			 January-March 97 14 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data were collected by health authority only prior to 2001–02. Trust level data were collected from 2001–02 onwards
	2. A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation. For example, a patient is to be admitted to hospital on a Monday for an operation scheduled for the following day (Tuesday). If the hospital cancels his/her operation for non-clinical reasons on the Monday, then this would count as a last minute cancellation. This includes patients who have not actually arrived in hospital and have been telephoned at home prior to their arrival.
	3. An operation which is rescheduled to a time within 24 hours of the original scheduled operation should be recorded as a postponement and not as a cancellation. The QMCO collection does not record the number of postponements.
	4. Some common non-clinical reasons for cancellations by the hospital include: ward beds unavailable; surgeon unavailable; emergency case needing theatre; theatre list over-ran; equipment failure; admin error; anaesthetist unavailable; theatre staff unavailable; and critical care bed unavailable.

Care Homes (Essex)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) local authority and (b) private sector care homes there are in each local authority in Essex.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of care homes by type of provider in Essex at 31 March 2001 is shown in the table.
	I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, and now CSCI, but comparable details are not available.
	
		Number of care homes in Essex by type of provider at 31 March 2001
		
			 Rounded number(61) 
			  Residential homes(62) Nursing homes(63) 
			 Councils with social services responsibilities Local authority staffed Independent(64) Independent 
		
		
			 Total for Essex area 45 490 (65)120 
			 Essex 40 355 n/a 
			 Southend 5 110 n/a 
			 Thurrock 5 25 n/a 
		
	
	n/a = Data not available.
	1 Figures may not sum due to rounding.
	2 Excludes dual registered homes.
	3 Includes general and mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics. Dual registered homes are included under nursing homes.
	4 Includes voluntary, private and small homes.
	5 Data on nursing homes relates to North Essex and South Essex health authorities.
	Source:
	RA Form A,RH(N) Form A.

Consultant Vacancies

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals in Hertfordshire have vacancies for consultants; and in what departments.

Rosie Winterton: The vacancy rates for trusts in Hertfordshire are shown in the tables. This is the latest data available as at 31 March 2004. Figures for 2005 are due for publication at the end of July 2005.
	
		Three month vacancy rate and number for consultants by specialty and selected trust in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) as t 31 March 2004
		
			  All consultants 
			 Organisation 3 month vacancy rate (percentage) 3 month vacancy (number) Staff in post (full- time equivalent) Staff in post (headcount) 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 5.0 33 621 668 
			 Of which: 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 8.0 13 149 158 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 5.1 9 167 181 
			 Of which: 
			 1. Accident and emergency 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 18.3 3 13 14 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 5 5 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 3 5 5 
			  
			 2. Anaesthetics (including intensive care) 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 7.9 7 81 85 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 16.5 5 25 26 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 3.4 1 28 30 
			 3. Cardiology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 8.5 1 11 11 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 4 4 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 0 4 4 
			  
			 4. Clinical radiology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 4.9 2 39 42 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 9.1 1 10 11 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 0.0 0 14 15 
			  
			 5. Dermatology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 9.7 1 9 12 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 1 2 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 1 4 6 
			  
			 6. General surgery 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 3.8 2 37 40 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 7.7 1 12 13 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 0.0 0 13 14 
			  
			 7. Genito-urinary medicine 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total * 1 9 9 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust — 0 0 0 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 1 3 3 
			  
			 8. Haematology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 10.4 2 13 14 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 4 5 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 1 4 5 
			  
			 9. Histopathology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 8.3 2 22 23 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 1 5 6 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 0 9 9 
			  
			 10. Medical microbiology and virology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 9.2 1 10 11 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 3 3 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 1 2 3 
			  
			 11. Obstetrics and gynaecology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 3.4 1 29 30 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 8 8 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 0 9 9 
			  
			 12. Occupational health 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total * 2 1 1 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 1 0 0 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust — 0 0 0 
			  
			 13. Ophthalmology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 6.5 1 14 15 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 4 4 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 0 4 4 
			  
			 14. Orthodontics 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total * 1 3 5 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 1 0 0 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 0 2 4 
			  
			 15. Paediatrics 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 5.9 3 47 51 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 21.4 3 11 12 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust — 0 0 0 
			  
			 16. Rheumatology 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total * 1 8 8 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust * 0 3 3 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 1 2 2 
			  
			 17. Trauma and orthopaedic surgery 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total 8.8 3 31 32 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 9.1 1 10 10 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust * 0 8 9 
			  
			 18. Other 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Total * 1 4 7 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust — 0 0 0 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust — 0 0 0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (full-time equivalents).
	2. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.
	3. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest full number.
	4. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place:
	'*' where the sum of the staff in post and number of vacancies is less then 10.
	'—' where the sum of the staff in post and number of vacancies is zero.
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental vacancy survey.
	
		Three month vacancy rate and number for all consultants by selected trust in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA, as at 31 March 2004
		
			 Organisation Org Code NHS Trust 3 month vacancy rate (percentage) 3 month vacancy (number) Staff in post (full-time equivalent) Staff in post (headcount) 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire RWH East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 8.0 13 149 158 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire RWR Hertfordshire Partnerships NHS Trust 0.0 0 76 83 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire RWG West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 5.1 9 167 181 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Total  5.0 33 621 668 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (full-time equivalents).
	2. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.
	3. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest full number.
	4. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental vacancy survey.

Dentistry

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the (a) adult and (b) child population was registered with an NHS dentist in the Southend primary care trust area in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The estimated percentages of child, adult and total population registered with general dental service (CDS) and personal dental service (PDS) dentists for Southend primary care trust (PCT) for March each year are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			  Child Adult All 
		
		
			 2001 68 51 54 
			 2002 66 50 54 
			 2003 65 50 54 
			 2004 62 47 50 
			 2005 62 44 48 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Registration rates, that is, the percentage of the population registered with a dentist, have been estimated by including registrations in the area of the dentist according to the postcode of the dental surgery (not the patient's address). So the registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live. This can lead to figures being unusually high (even over 100 per cent. for child registrations), whilst other areas may have estimated rates lower than the actual proportion of residents who are registered with a dentist in or outside their own area.
	2. The registration rates use population estimates for the PCT areas for the nearest year for which data are available. Figures for 1997 to 2000 have been calculated from 2001 population data. Figures for 2004 and 2005 have been calculated from 2003 population data, as this is the most up to date available.
	3. The numbers of registrations are based on a snapshot of the registration database taken at the end of March each year and subsequent retrospective notifications of changes to registrations have not been included.
	4. Some double counting may occur in the totals when a patient has been newly registered with a dentist in one PCT, but not yet de-registered from a dentist in another PCT.
	5. The changes in the registration period from two years to 15 months under the GDS from 1 September 1996 affected the registration numbers from December 1997 onwards, so the 1997 figures are not comparable with later figures.
	6. Most PDS schemes that have registrations have a re-registration period in excess of 15 months, so the figures for PDS schemes are generally higher than they would have been for the same attendance pattern under GDS.
	7. Some PDS schemes do not have any registrations, for example, dental access centres and will not therefore be included in these figures.
	8. There is a small number of unallocated registrations.
	Sources:
	Dental Practice Board.
	Office of National Statistics population data.

Emergency Contraception

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  why it is necessary for a pharmacist with a conscientious objection to prescribing emergency contraception over the counter without prescription to refer a patient to another pharmacist who does not have such a conscientious objection; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will introduce legislation to allow a pharmacist with a conscientious objection to prescribing emergency contraception over the counter without prescription to rely on the rights created by section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) is not a method of abortion. In 2002, there was a High Court ruling that the supply and use of EHC is lawful and that the prevention of implantation, which is brought about by emergency contraception products, does not amount to procuring a miscarriage under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. The conscience clause set out in section 4 of the Abortion Act is therefore not relevant to the supply of EHC.
	The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's code of ethics and standards states that
	"where pharmacists' religious beliefs or personal convictions prevent them from providing a service they must not condemn or criticise the patient and they or a member of staff must advise the patient of alternative sources for the service requested."

Emergency Contraception

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions of the morning-after pill there were in the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if she will break down prescription by age.

Caroline Flint: Hormonal emergency contraception, the morning-after pill, may be prescribed by general practitioners or by family planning clinics. The numbers of prescriptions in the last 10 years may be found in the statistical bulletin, "NHS Contraceptive Services, England, 2003–04", which is available in the Library and also on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/00/22/04090022.pdf.
	Table 10 in the bulletin shows GP prescriptions and table five those in family planning clinics. Hormonal emergency contraception is also available at pharmacies but statistical information about pharmacy provision is not available.
	An age breakdown is not available for GP prescriptions. The age breakdown of women prescribed hormonal emergency contraception by family planning clinics is shown in table six of the bulletin.

Emergency Contraception

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research has been commissioned by her Department into the safety of post coital contraception with respect to girls aged (a) 12 to 14 and (b) 14 to 16 years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what clinical trials involving girls between the ages of 11 and 15 years have been conducted with respect to levonorgestrel;
	(3)  if levonorgestrel is licensed for use by girls between the ages of 11 and 15.

Caroline Flint: As with all marketed medicines, the safety of post coital contraception is continuously monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
	Post coital contraception is currently available as a levonorgestrel, containing emergency hormonal contraceptive (Levonelle/Levonelle-2) and as the post-coital insertion of a copper-containing intra-uterine device (IUD).
	No safety concerns were identified in two World Health Organisation (WHO) sponsored clinical trials of emergency hormonal contraception that included girls aged 16 and under. In addition, extensive worldwide use of levonorgestrel in over 9 million women, including those under 16 years, have not identified any serious safety concerns or provided evidence that the safety of levonorgestrel is any different in the under 16s. There are also no safety concerns about the use of IUDs in women age under 16. However, these are very rarely used in young women with no children.
	Clinical trials for new drugs are not routinely conducted on young people under 16 unless they are specifically indicated for use in children. The judgment on the balance of risks and benefits in women under 16 is the responsibility of the prescribing physician. Health care professionals are encouraged to discuss the potential side effects with everyone who seeks treatment. In addition, prescribers are expected to satisfy themselves that all women understand the risks and benefits of using post coital contraception and that it is in their best interests to receive the treatment.
	In the event of any important new safety information emerging, the MHRA will take action to ensure that this is accurately reflected in the product information and communicated to health professionals and women using these products.
	No clinical trials of levonorgestrel use specific to women under 16 have been conducted in the United Kingdom. The marketing authorisation that was granted in 1999 for the prescription-only product was supported by evidence from two large randomised controlled trials, one conducted by the WHO 1 , and one using published data from uncontrolled studies. Most women in the clinical trials were aged between 16 and 48, but a few girls aged 14 and 15 were included. No data were available for girls between ages 11 and 14 years. Age analysis of efficacy and safety in randomised studies did not identify any population that responded differently to treatment. Since then another WHO-sponsored study has evaluated 4,136 women aged between 14 and 52 years (mean age 27 years) who attended family planning clinics requesting emergency contraception 2 . In excess of 2,700 women were given levonorgestrel, and of these, 439 were teenage girls (with 85 aged 16 and under). No safety concerns were identified in the study.
	Levonorgestrel is available as Levonelle-2G,, a prescription-only medicine licensed for emergency contraception that is available only under medical supervision. The licence does not specify a lower age limit for women but health care professionals are expected to satisfy themselves, in accordance with guidelines, that treatment is in the patient's best interests and that she understands the advice she is receiving.
	Levonorgestrel is also available as Levonelle G, which is for sale in pharmacies and is not recommended for use by young women under 16 years of age without medical supervision. Comprehensive guidance and training on best practice for the supply of Levonelle in pharmacies has been issued to all pharmacists. This includes what questions should be asked of women, which women should be referred to a doctor for advice and ensuring that they are satisfied that the client is aged 16 or over.
	1 Task Force on Postovulatory Methods of Fertility Regulation. Lancet 1998;352:428–33
	2 Von Hertzen H et al., Lancet 2002;360:1803–10

Genito-urinary Medicine

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods were used (a) to monitor and (b) to record performance against the target set out in her Department's National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV that by the end of 2004 all genito-urinary medicine clinic attendees should be offered an HIV test on their first screening for sexually transmitted infections.

Caroline Flint: Data on HIV tests taken and offered in genito-urinary medicine clinics is collected and published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Indicators for the national strategy for sexual health HIV goals were published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in their annual report, "Focus on Prevention. HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in the United Kingdom in 2003" is available on their website at www.hpa.org.uk.

Health Services (Milton Keynes)

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there have been in the Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(61) for specified organisations, 1999–2004
		
			  Number (headcount) 
		
		
			 4051—Milton Keynes Primary Care Group  
			 1999 117 
			 2000 119 
			 2001 n/a 
			 2002 n/a 
			 2003 n/a 
			 2004 n/a 
			 December 2004 n/a 
			   
			 5CQ—Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust  
			 1999 n/a 
			 2000 n/a 
			 2001 119 
			 2002 123 
			 2003 121 
			 2004 125 
			 December 2004 127 
		
	
	n/a = data is not applicable.
	(61) General medical practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars, includes contracted GPs, general medical service (CMS) others and personal medical service (PMS) others. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	Note:
	Data as at 1 October 1999, 30 September 2000–04 and 31 December 2004.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre GMS and PMS statistics.

Hip Replacements

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in the Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust have been waiting more than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months and (d) 12 months for hip replacement operations.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Patient count of finished in-year admission episodes, main operative procedure hip replacement (OPCS-4 = W37-W39), primary care trust (PCT) of residence—Milton Keynes PCT, national health service hospitals, England 2003–04
		
			 Waiting time grouping Total patients 
		
		
			 Up to 3 months 20 
			 More than 3 up to 6 months 26 
			 More than 6 up to 9 months 21 
			 More than 9 up to 12 months 35 
			 More than 12 up to 18 months 8 
			 Not known 1 
			 Total 111 
		
	
	Note:
	1. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the datayear. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier HESID. This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and national health service number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.
	3. The main operation is the first recorded operation in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g.,. time waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with an operation.
	4. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	5. Time waited (days)—time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	Source:
	HES, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Influenza Vaccinations

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the take-up rate for influenza vaccinations was in (a) north-east Somerset and (b) south Gloucestershire in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The take-up rates for influenza vaccinations for those aged 65 and over in north Somerset and south Gloucestershire in each of the last five years are shown in the table.
	
		Percentage
		
			  North Somerset South Gloucestershire 
		
		
			 2000–01 (62)67 (62)67 
			 2001–02 (62)65 (62)70 
			 2002–03 71 73 
			 2003–04 72 76 
			 2004–05 69 75 
		
	
	(62) Data collected for these years were by health authority. Data by primary care trust was collected from 2002–03 onwards.

Obesity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to tackle childhood obesity; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Reducing obesity in both children and adults is one of the key overarching priorities of the Government White Paper, "Choosing Health". The White Paper sets out a comprehensive strategy for tackling obesity and has given a solid foundation for future work. Delivery plans for "Choosing Health, Choosing a Better Diet and Choosing Activity" were published in March this year and show how we will deliver action to tackle childhood obesity.
	We have also set a national public service agreement target to halt, by 2010, the year-on-year increase in obesity among children under 11 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children will also be available early in 2007.
	Current action on diet includes investment in the "Five-a-day" programme, including the school fruit and vegetable scheme, promotion of breastfeeding, action to improve diet and nutrition across the whole school, including the food in schools programme, as well as work with industry on food promotion to children and reducing salt, fat and sugar. Current action on physical activity includes investing in school sport and the local exercise and activity pilots.

Obesity

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in ensuring that primary care trusts produce strategies to address obesity; what (a) guidance and (b) resources are made available to trusts to assist them in producing such strategies; and whether that assistance includes information about slimming on referral.

Caroline Flint: As part of the local delivery plan process, strategic health authorities are required to submit plans to tackle obesity. These have been received and are being assessed. The obesity care pathway, weight loss guide and obesity toolkit will help support primary care trusts in delivering their plans, prior to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance in 2007. The White Paper, "Choosing Health", also made a commitment to assess the role validated programmes, such as slimming on referral, can play in providing effective behaviour change programmes.

Positron Emission Tomography Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken following the publication of the Framework for the Development of Positron Emission Tomography Services in England on 28 July 2004 and the subsequent consultation; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We are currently considering responses to the draft, "National Framework for the Development of Position Emission Tomography Services in England." The report is due to be published shortly.

Walnuttree Hospital, Sudbury

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations her Department has received from (a) patients, (b) patients' relatives, (c) medical staff and (d) other health authority staff regarding the proposal to close the Walnuttree hospital in Sudbury.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has received letters and emails from patients, patients' relatives and medical staff on the proposal to close the Walnuttree hospital in Sudbury. In addition, a 10,000 signature petition was presented to the Department on 24 November 2004 on behalf of the campaigners, "Hands Off Our Hospital".

World Health Organisation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has given to the World Health Organisation in each year since 1997; whether there are restrictions on the use of these funds; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department pays the United Kingdom's annual subscription to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in line with the United Nation's scales of assessment, which is shown in the table. There are no restrictions on the use of these funds.
	
		UK annual subscriptions from 1997 to 2004
		
			 Thousand 
			  Departmental contributions to the WHO 
			  United States ($) £(63) 
		
		
			 1997 21,560 13,342 
			 1998 21,416 12,891 
			 1999 19,677 12,180 
			 2000 20,751 13,170 
			 2001(64) 20,293 14,400 
			 2005(64) 22,683 14,950 
			 2003(64) 20,071 12,673 
			 2004(64)(65) 22,030 12,959 
		
	
	(63) Figures are in sterling and based on the United Kingdom's financial year starting from 1997–98 to 2004–05.
	(64) Figures are not comparable to previous years due to the introduction of the resource accounting and budgeting out-turn exercise. This information is compiled in line with the requirements of "Government Accounting 2000".
	(65) Amount in sterling is provisional.
	Notes:
	1. WHO contributions against the UK are in US dollars and converted into sterling by using the exchange rates used by the Bank of England.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousands.
	In addition to the annual subscription, the Department has made voluntary contributions targeted to specific WHO programmes in the following areas:
	Disease surveillance
	Environment and health, including chemical safety and air quality
	Immunisation (pandemic flu)
	Non communicable diseases (health inequalities, WHO global strategy on diet, physical activity and health)
	Patient safety
	Tobacco control
	Smallpox.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2005, Official Report, column 432W, on council tax, if he will place in the Library a copy of the written advice or reports submitted to the Valuation Office Agency by (a) Cole Layer Trumble, (b) the International Association of Assessing Officers, (c) the International Property Tax Institute, (d) the Institute of Revenue Rating and Valuation, (e) the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveys and (f) KPMG.

Dawn Primarolo: I have asked the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to arrange for hardcopy versions of "Mass Appraisal of Real Property" and "Property Appraisal and Assessment Administration" published by the International Association of Assessing Officers and "A vision for valuation" published by the RIGS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) to be placed in the House of Commons and the House of Lords Libraries. ("A vision for valuation" is also available on www.rics.org.). The Valuation Office Agency has used these publications to aid their review of potential techniques which may assist the revaluation, and also discussed aspects with representatives of the bodies concerned.
	The remaining written advice provided by (a) , (b) , (c) , (d) , (e) and (f) has been given to assist in the formulation of Government policy on the future assessment of properties for council tax purposes using computer aided mass appraisal techniques, which are still under development. This written advice has been provided in confidence, and in addition disclosure could in some cases prejudice the commercial interests of the supplier and their relationship with the VOA.

Drug-related Deaths (Teesside)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many deaths in Teesside the use of (a) heroin, (b) ecstasy, (c) amphetamines, (d) other illicit substances, (e) alcohol and (f) tobacco was recorded as a cause in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Ashok Kumar, dated 19 July 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking in how many deaths in Teesside the use of (a) heroin, (b) ecstasy, (c) amphetamines, (d) other illicit substances, (e) alcohol and (f) tobacco was recorded as a cause in each year since 1997. (12552)
	The most recently available information for mortality is deaths registered in 2004 and deaths occurring in 2003. Relevant figures are only readily available for deaths where the underlying cause was either related to drug poisoning or directly related to alcohol (alcohol abuse, dependence and poisoning, and diseases directly related to alcohol use). It is not possible to identify from death certificates which substance was the primary cause when more than one was involved.
	Teesside has not been a recognised administrative area since 1974 when major administrative re-structuring took place. Teesside county borough council now lies within three unitary authorities: Middlesbrough; Redcar and Cleveland; and, Stockton-on-Tees. Figures for these areas are provided in the table below.
	It is not known how many people die through tobacco use each year as this information is not recorded on the death certificate. Estimates can be made however and the most recent for England were published by the Health Development Agency in 2004. 1 This report estimated that in England an average of 86,500 deaths were caused by smoking each year over the period 1998–2002. Estimates were not published at unitary authority level, however for Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) the percentages of all deaths from causes associated with smoking at ages 35 and over were published. The unitary authorities of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees lie within the PCTs of Middlesbrough, Langbaurgh and North Tees. The percentages of deaths of those aged 35 and over in these areas from causes associated with smoking were 38 per cent., 32 per cent. and 35 per cent. respectively.
	Figures for alcohol-related deaths to usual residents of the three unitary authorities registered in the years 1997 to 2004 are given in the table below. ONS compiles a special database to analyse mortality from drug-related poisoning, adding more detail than is available on routine annual extracts. This database is compiled using the annual occurrences extract of mortality data. Figures showing deaths related to drug poisoning involving heroin/methadone, ecstasy and amphetamines, occurring in the years 1997 to 2003, to usual residents of the three areas are given in the table below. Information on deaths involving illicit substances is not available, as how the deceased obtained a particular drug is not recorded at death registration.
	However the attached table does show the number of deaths where a controlled substance, other than heroin/morphine or amphetamines (including ecstasy), was mentioned.
	It should be noted that the figures on drug-related poisoning and alcohol-related deaths are not directly comparable for the following reasons:
	The figures for alcohol-related deaths include the long-term effects of alcohol use, such as cirrhosis of the liver, whereas the figures for drugs all relate to poisoning from drug use.
	Deaths from poisoning which involved both drugs and alcohol are coded as being due to drug poisoning, in accordance with international rules for coding cause of death.
	The figures on alcohol include only those where the underlying cause was alcohol-related. The figures on specific drugs include any mention of the substance where the death was related to drug poisoning.
	1 Twigg L, Moon G and Walker S. The smoking epidemic in England. Health Development Agency, 2004.
	
		Number of alcohol-related deaths(66) and deaths from drug-related poisoning(67) involving selected drugs(68) to usual residents of the Unitary Authorities of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees, 1997 to 2004(69)
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Middlesbrough 
			 (a) heroin/morphine (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— 6 (70)— (70)— — 
			 (b) ecstasy (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (c) amphetamines (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (d) other misuse substances (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (e) alcohol-related deaths 13 22 16 12 18 23 13 25 
			  
			 Redcar and Cleveland 
			 (a) heroin/morphine (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (b) ecstasy (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (c) amphetamines (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (d) other misuse substances (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (e) alcohol-related deaths 14 14 14 17 20 16 21 18 
			  
			 Stockton-on-Tees 
			 (a) heroin/morphine (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (b) ecstasy (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (c) amphetamines (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— — 
			 (d) other misuse substances (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— (70)— 5 — 
			 (e) alcohol-related deaths 17 27 13 20 18 23 31 22 
		
	
	(66) For the years 1997–2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 291, 303, 305.0, 425.5, 571, E860. For the years from 2001 onwards the cause of deaths was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes F10, 142.6, K70, K73, K74, X45.
	Deaths were selected using the original underlying cause. The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in:
	Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 17, pp 5–14.
	(67) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 292, 304, 305.2–305.9, E850-E858, E950.0-E950.5, E962.0 and E980.0-E980.5 for 1997 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes F11-F16, F18-F19, X40-X44, X60-X64, X85 and Y10-Y14 from 2001 onwards.
	(68) Drugs mentioned on the death certificate of a death where the underlying cause was drug poisoning.
	(69) Figures for alcohol-related deaths are numbers registered in each calendar year. Figures for drug-related poisoning deaths are numbers occurring in each calendar year.
	(70) Fewer than 5 deaths.

Economic Conditionality

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action is being taken to promote the UK position on economic conditionality at the International Monetary Fund.

Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to promote the Government's policy on economic conditionality within the International Monetary Fund.

Ivan Lewis: As set out in the recently published policy paper "Partnerships for Poverty Reduction: rethinking conditionality", the Government believes that the relationship between donors and each developing country should be a partnership, based on shared commitments and priorities taken from the country's own poverty reduction strategy, and that progress should be measured against benchmarks from that strategy.
	This approach was endorsed recently in the G8 statement on trade from the recent Gleneagles summit. This stated that this kind of flexibility will
	"help least developed countries to decide, plan and sequence their overall economic reforms in line with their country-led development programmes and their international obligations".
	The IMF is currently undertaking a review of their approach to conditionality to be discussed later this year. In the context of this review and individual country discussions, the UK will work in the IMF Executive Board to promote the new approach proposed by the UK. The UK will also use the annual meetings of both the IMF and the World Bank in September 2005 to promote this approach.

Economic Inactivity

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of men and women aged (a) 16 to 44 and (b) 45 to 64 years who were (i) employed and (ii) economically inactive reported a limited longstanding illness from 1979 to the most recent available date.

John Healey: holding answer 11 July 2005
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Frank Field, dated 19 July 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about employed and economically inactive men and women with longstanding illness in the UK. (11441)
	Tables 1 and 2 attached provide the available information for the years 1995 to 2005.
	For the years 1995 to 1997 the long-term health problem definition included those people whose problem affected the kind of paid work they did. In the 1998 the definition of long-term health problem was extended to include problems affecting the amount of paid work that could be done. For the years 1999 onwards the figures are based on LFS questions designed to reflect the criteria of the Disability Discrimination Act.
	The proportion of disabled people in table 2 are on a consistent basis, which is comparable from 1999 onwards. However, table 1 shows a clear discontinuity due to questionnaire changes. This should be taken into account if comparisons are made over time.
	These estimates from the labour force survey are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	
		Table 1: Proportions of people of working age(71) with long-term health problem(72)United Kingdom
		
			 Percentage (not seasonally adjusted) 
			  Age 16 to 44 
			  Men Women 
			 Three months ending February In employment Inactive In employment Inactive 
		
		
			 1995 4.1 23.6 3.5 13.8 
			 1996 4.1 26.0 3.7 14.6 
			 1997 7.1 33.9 6.2 20.1 
			 1998(73) 5.4 33.1 5.6 20.2 
		
	
	
		
			Percentage (not seasonally adjusted) 
			  Age 45 to 64 Age 45 to 59 
			  Men Women 
			 Three months ending February In employment Inactive In employment Inactive 
		
		
			 1995 8.0 64.9 7.1 41.2 
			 1996 7.7 64.2 7.2 42.9 
			 1997 12.1 69.5 10.5 50.9 
			 1998(73) 9.5 69.5 10.4 50.7 
		
	
	(71) Men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.
	(72) Long-term health problems defined by self-classification of LFS respondents as limiting the kind of paid work they can do.
	(73) In 1998 the definition of long-term health problems was extended to include problems affecting the amount of paid work that could be done.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey.
	
		Table 2: Proportion of people of working age(74) who are classified as disabled under the criteria of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) United Kingdom
		
			 Percentage (not seasonally adjusted) 
			  Age 16 to 44 
			  Men Women 
			 Three months ending February In employment Inactive In employment Inactive 
		
		
			 1999 8.2 33.7 9.1 22.3 
			 2000 8.6 32.8 8.9 23.8 
			 2001 8.7 33.9 9.3 23.5 
			 2002 9.0 34.6 10.1 24.0 
			 2003 9.4 34.6 10.0 24.3 
			 2004 8.7 32.2 9.6 23.8 
			 2005 8.8 31.8 9.9 23.5 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage (not seasonally adjusted) 
			  Age 45 to 64 Age 45 to 59 
			  Men Women 
			 Three months ending February In employment Inactive In employment Inactive 
		
		
			 1999 15.6 71.8 17.1 54.8 
			 2000 16.7 69.4 17.0 55.4 
			 2001 17.8 72.0 17.3 56.2 
			 2002 18.6 71.3 18.2 59.0 
			 2003 19.0 71.0 18.2 58.0 
			 2004 19.0 71.1 18.1 58.2 
			 2005 19.1 69.4 18.9 58.6 
		
	
	(74) Men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.
	Note:
	Based on DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) "disabled" includes those who have a long term disability (12 months or more) which substantially limits their day-to-day activities, and people who have a long-term disability, which affects the kind or amount of work they might do.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Gift Aid

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was received by charities via Gift Aid in (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003 and (d) 2004.

Ivan Lewis: The amounts donated by individuals and tax repaid to charities under Gift Aid for the years 2000–01 to 2004–05 are shown in the table. The figures for 2004–05 are provisional. HM Revenue and Customs do not have data for corporate Gift Aid donations during this period.
	Statistics on Gift Aid are published on the HM Revenue and Customs website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/table10–3.xls
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Total gift aid donations Tax repaid 
		
		
			 2000–01 996 222 
			 2001–02 1,884 415 
			 2002–03 2,300 506 
			 2003–04 2,666 586 
			 2004–05 2,838 625

Income Tax

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of people in (a) England and Wales, (b) North East region, (c) Tees Valley sub region and (d) Hartlepool pay income tax at the (i) starting rate of 10 per cent., (ii) basic rate of 22 per cent. and (iii) higher rate of 40 per cent.

Dawn Primarolo: The information for taxpayers in England and Wales is in the table.
	Similar information by tax bands on regional or sub-regional income tax revenue statistics is not available pending a review of National Statistics on income tax and personal incomes. Further details of the review can be found on the HMRC website at the following page: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/NS_Review.htm
	
		England and Wales taxpayers only, 2002–03
		
			  Number of taxpayers (thousand) Percentage 
		
		
			 Starting rate 2,700 11 
			 Savers' and basic rate(75) 20,100 79 
			 Higher rate 2,800 10 
		
	
	(75) Includes taxpayers with a marginal rate of 20 per cent. on savings, 22 per cent. on earnings and 10 per cent. on dividends.
	The number of people liable for tax in the North East region, and Hartlepool and Tees Valley unitary authorities, can be found in tables 3.11 'Income and tax, by region and country' and 3.14 'Total income by borough and district or unitary authority' on the HM Revenue and Customs' website www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu.htm
	The income tax information is based upon the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) and 2002–03 is the latest survey year. The survey is based on information held by the HM Revenue and Customs tax offices on persons who are liable to UK tax.

Lorry Road User Charge

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed on the project to introduce lorry road user charging; and what their budget is.

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much has been spent on preparatory work for the lorry road user charge;
	(2)  how many people are employed in the lorry road user charge division within HM Revenue and Customs.

John Healey: The LRUC programme has regularly reviewed its needs to ensure the right level of skills and resources; during 2004–05, the last complete year for which figures are available, the equivalent of around 159 full-time staff were engaged on the programme. The provisional total for the expenditure by HM Customs and Excise on the LRUC programme since they were assigned responsibility in May 2002 up to 31 March 2005 was £39.1 million.
	This work on the LRUC programme has strengthened the Government's view that distance-based charging for using the UK's roads is technically achievable. In particular, "proof of solution" work with prospective suppliers has enabled us to see the technology in action, and is confirming our expectations of its ability to deliver a distance-based charge. The Government will continue to work with the haulage industry and ensure that we carry the full experience gained from this project into the wider work to develop a national road pricing system.

National Statistics

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress is being made with the Framework Review of National Statistics; when he expects it to be compiled; whether it will be published; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The "Framework for National Statistics" came into force in 2000, and included a commitment for its review in five years. The Government will honour this commitment.

Pensions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he used in deciding to make property owners eligible for the self-invested personal pensions scheme.

Ivan Lewis: Currently most pension funds may invest in residential property, and many do. Pension tax simplification, which replaces the numerous existing tax regimes with a universal regime for tax-privileged pension savings, will also allow Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) and Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSASs) to invest in residential property from 6 April 2006. This new regime will provide greater flexibility to some 15 million pension savers.
	Creating a single set of allowable investments across all pension schemes fits the requirement to create a single regime for tax privileged pension saving and corrects an existing distortion by giving investors greater choice.
	Paragraphs 55 and 56 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) "Simplifying the Taxation of Pensions" published in April 2004, which can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/simplifying-pensions.pdf deal specifically with the potential consequences of allowing residential property into SIPPs and SSASs.
	The Government will keep this aspect of the tax system, as with all others, under review.

Revenue and Customs

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs are engaged in the handling, processing and analysis of information returned on form IHT205.

Dawn Primarolo: No staff spend their whole time dealing with form IHT205, but the department estimates that it occupies the equivalent of about five full-time units. This compares to eight units dealing with the smaller number of "excepted estates" under the pre-2004 arrangements, plus further staff dealing with estates which were then required to submit a full IHT return but would now be able to use form IHT205. The new arrangements are designed to help executors get things right first time and have eliminated most of the follow-up inquiries which used to be necessary. Burdens on executors have reduced accordingly.

Stamp Duty

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many transactions in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) the UK and (e) each Government office region Stamp Duty was paid in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The estimated number of residential transactions, where Stamp Duty was payable, is given in the following table for the years and regions for which the information is available. Stamp Duty was payable for these years if the value of the transaction was above the £60,000 threshold, except for transactions from 30 November 2001 with values above £60,000 and up to £150,000 in certain disadvantaged areas, which were relieved from Stamp Duty.
	
		
			Number (thousand) 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 North East 15 12 16 17 16 20 31 
			 North West 41 45 57 68 76 86 83 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 32 32 39 46 44 51 47 
			 East Midlands 29 32 41 49 51 51 62 
			 West Midlands 43 44 54 59 62 81 60 
			 East of England 70 70 87 96 109 121 97 
			 London 122 121 155 148 159 163 130 
			 South East 137 134 167 158 199 230 174 
			 South West 65 67 87 90 117 137 126 
			 England 554 557 703 729 833 941 809 
			 Wales 17 17 23 22 32 37 46 
			 Scotland n/a n/a n/a n/a 55 66 75 
			 United Kingdom n/a n/a n/a n/a 942 1,069 964 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.

Tax Credits

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been paid out to tax credit claimants in compensation for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs errors in each of the last three years.

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the number of compensation payments due to errors and delays in the Tax Credit Office in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what decisions his Department made in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 about notifying tax credit claimants of their compensation entitlements following incorrect payments of the credits due to official error and IT problems; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The circumstances in which HM Revenue and Customs will make compensation payments to its customers are explained in the Department's Code of Practice 1 "Putting things right" which is available at www.hmrc.gov.uk. The Department will pay compensation for reasonable costs incurred as a direct result of their mistakes or delays and to recognise worry and distress caused by those mistakes and delays. They do not keep separate details of compensation payments made specifically due to errors or delays.
	For details of compensation payments the Department made to tax credits claimants in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05, I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 4 July 2005, Official Report, columns 95–96W.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the (a) costs and (b) effects of returning to a fixed system of tax credit awards; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government carefully examined the issue of how tax credits could respond to changes in families income and circumstances, and consulted on it when designing the child and working tax credits. A consultation document, 'New Tax Credits Supporting families, making work pay and tackling poverty', was published in July 2001. In the light of that consultation exercise, the April 2002 publication "The Child and Working Tax Credits: The Modernisation of Britain's Tax and Benefit System Number Ten" set out how the system would work.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken to resolve a dispute over the recovery of overpaid tax credits was in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; and what the figure is to date in 2005–06.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Tax Credits

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in each ward of Newport East claim (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of in-work families (broken down by families with and without children) in each region, local authority and constituency with tax credits for 2003–04 awards, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003–04, appear in the HMRC statistical publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Awards 2003–04. Geographical analyses." More recent provisional estimates for in-work families, as at selected dates in 2004–05, in each such area appear in the publication "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics Geographical analyses." The estimates are based on samples and are subject to significant sampling uncertainty.
	Both of these publications can be found on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm. Estimates for smaller areas are not currently available.

Tonnage Tax

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of corporation tax forgone since the introduction of tonnage tax; and how much tonnage tax has been raised during that period.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the corporation tax foregone in the first four years of the tonnage tax based on the level of UK shipping activity when tonnage tax was introduced can be found at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/international/tonnage.htm
	Over this same period around £10 million in corporation tax has accrued to the Exchequer from companies using the net tonnage of ships operated as a means of calculating shipping profits.